KARACHI, 10 March 2004 — Tickets for the opening match of the first Indian cricket tour of Pakistan in 15 years have sold out but fans are still demanding more, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday.
“All 23,000 tickets sold at booths have sold out and as expected fans are still demanding tickets,” PCB general manager cricket operations Zakir Khan told AFP in the southern port city of Karachi where the first of five one-day matches will take place on Saturday.
Another 6,000 tickets on sale over the Internet had also sold out, he added. Another 4,000-plus tickets are reserved for special guests and VIPs.
Karachi’s National Stadium has a capacity of 33,177 and will be packed when the one-day series begins there on Saturday.
The PCB faced huge criticism over clashes during the first day of ticket sales last Sunday, when frustrated fans pelted police with stones in frustration at the small number of booths to cater for the thousands queuing up.
Several people were injured after police baton charged the crowd.
The PCB had to suspend ticket sales until Monday. After increasing the number of outlets sales proceeded smoothly.
Ticket sales for the second match, in the northern city of Rawalpindi on March 16, will start today.
The one-day series will be followed by three Tests at Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi.
