published by, Akash Biswas
Last Update: March 17, 2023, 4:25 pm IST
Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium (Photo: Doordarshan/Twitter)
It was a good crowd – around 20,000 by a rough estimate – but far short of the full house of 33,000 the Wankhede Stadium was hosting a one-day match after three years.
A renovated and refurbished Wankhede Stadium attracted huge crowds on a working day for the first ODI between India and Australia on Friday – the first since Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has completed the work of the first phase.
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It was a good crowd – around 20,000 by a rough estimate – but far short of the full house of 33,000 the Wankhede Stadium was hosting a one-day match after three years.
The MCA had begun a phased renovation and refurbishment of the stadium after some fans criticized the facilities at stadiums in India. The MCA had announced through a social media post on Tuesday that the first phase of the renovation of the stadium which was rebuilt ahead of the 2011 World Cup was completed and hosted the final.
It was also the first One Day International at the stadium since January 2020 – the same two sides played the match which Australia won by 10 wickets on 14 January.
The match has attracted celebrities including superstar Rajinikanth, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais and Bollywood Star Ajay Devgan.
Ticket sales for Friday’s tie were slow and the Mumbai Hockey League (MHA) was running at the Mahindra Stadium until the start of the match.
“Usually, tickets sold mostly online and those sold at the booking window at MHA are done within an hour or so on the first day. This time it is going slow and still available,” said an MHA employee.
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Apart from it being a working day, another reason for the low number could be the sunny and hot conditions and the fact that India was fielding.
The tickets are also not that cheap, costing between Rs 2000 and Rs 2500.
While the MCA claimed to have renovated the stadium, some fans put up pictures of dirty chairs in the stands, highlighting once again the most spectator-friendly cricket stadium in the country.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
