Fan interest has peaked in a manner that can only be described as madness to witness the universe’s biggest cricket match at the world’s largest cricket venue.
The capacity of the cavernous Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is anything from 100,000 to 132,000, depending on whom you believe. The Gujarat Cricket Association, whose ground it is, has plaques their quoting both figures.
Just how many of these tickets have actually been secured by members of the paying public is anybody’s guess. On Friday, the black market was flooded with tickets. A single ticket that had a face value of 2,500 rupees (£25) was offered and bought on Instagram for 25,000 rupees (£250), 10 times the original price.
For hospitality seating the numbers were even more staggering, with one reseller quoting 1.9m rupees (£19,000) for a box that hosts 15.
It isn’t only ticket prices that have gone through the roof. Hotels were showing that all rooms had sold out, only to then sell them off at vastly inflated prices to desperate travellers coming in from overseas. Rooms that normally cost £100 a night were going at 10 to 20 times the price.
The desperation climaxed when a group of Indian fans travelling from the US took a novel route, booking routine health checkups at a local hospital, timing their “procedures” with the India-Pakistan match so they would have a roof over their heads on the night in question.
Private nursing homes and small hospitals have succumbed, offering their rooms – also at inflated prices – knowing that it is a win-win situation for them as they could charge for tests and procedures they would not actually conduct.
“We have come across some cases of people coming to watch the match also taking an appointment for health checkups and staying in hospitals,” says Tushar Patel, the president of the Ahmedabad Medical Association. The Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association went as far as instructing hospitals not to take on anyone but legitimate patients, but there is little they can do to stop this from happening.
The other underground market doing a thriving trade is liquor. Gujarat is a designated dry state and alcohol can be legally bought only at certain outlets, after securing a licence. Even then, the allowance is sparse. In a seven-day period, you can buy 750ml of spirits, three bottles of wine, or 10 650ml bottles of beer.
This has led to a flourishing black market and illegal sellers are making a killing on account of World Cup matches being held in Ahmedabad. A bottle of Indian whisky, available for £20 in other states, typically sells at £80 in Ahmedabad, but the current cost – if you can even find a seller willing to take the risk – is anywhere between £200 and £300.
Even the legitimate activities around the India-Pakistan match are becoming curiouser and curiouser. Organisers announced that a gala music concert would take place at 12.30pm, one and a half hours before the start of the game. Leading Indian singers Arijit Singh and Shankar Mahadevan will be performing, with actors Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, who are bigger icons than most Indian cricketers, also present.
The tournament did not have an opening ceremony of any kind and when India take on Pakistan 11 matches will have already been played. None of those featured any kind of entertainment or razzmatazz save for a DJ egging the crowd on to sing a particular chant or break into a Mexican wave.
Since India and Pakistan do not play each other bilaterally, the anticipation for these matches is at a different level.
In the recently concluded Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, the India-Pakistan match in the Super 4 stage, was the only one to have a reserve day, which was needed when rain came down. It defies logic, but then, that is the norm when it comes to this contest.
