Mumbai, April 01: There is a last minute scramble for that elusive ticket for the World Cup final featuring India and Sri Lanka here Saturday but only a pot-full of money can get you the prized possession, to go by what many hopefuls say.
Adding to the woes of the spectators is the fact that stadium can accomodate only 33,000. By mid-March, all the seats have been sold out for the final match!
And still there are more than three million hopefuls praying to somehow get a ticket to watch the biggest cricket spectacle.
A week before the India-Pakistan semifinal in Mohali, the “unofficial” ticket rates for the final were between Rs.30,000-Rs.60,000.
There were many who managed to grab the tickets being blackmarketed when the rates were low.
However, after India thrashed Pakistan to enter the finals in Mumbai, the ticket rates were jacked up – upto Rs 200,000 till Thursday evening and these were quoted as Rs.250,000 by Friday evening.
By Saturday noon, these rates may cross Rs.350,000.
The only problem is that despite willing takers, there are few or no sellers.
A Kandivli doctor, Himanshu Modi, was one such avid cricket fan who made frantic attempts to get a ticket for the final match.
“However, last week, when the rates were being quoted at Rs.60,000 for a single ticket, I finally gave up all efforts. Instead, I attended the semifinal match in Colombo between New Zealand-Sri Lanka,” Modi told IANS.
When asked why Sri Lanka, Modi said he managed to get a three-nights package deal of Rs.30,000 including return Mumbai-Colombo airfare, very good accommodation, food, sightseeing and a ticket to the stadium included.
In contrast, he said there was not a single flight ticket available for Mohali, and travelling by train would have been cumbersome. The final in Mumbai is too expensive.
Some lucky buyers who managed to secure online tickets decided to opt out after hearing about the stringent security measures and long queues at various entry points to enter the venue Saturday.
-Agencies