THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sports Hub in Kariavattom is gearing up to host its maiden One-day International (ODI) match on November 1. It was almost 30 years ago that Thiruvananthapuram hosted an ODI for the last time. It was the 7th match of the India-West Indies series and despite a valiant century by K Srikkanth, India had to bite the dust as the visitors easily strolled to win with nine wickets remaining.
The times have changed a lot since. The Windies of the past is just a sepia-toned memory. They no longer possess the might and at times have been reduced to a sidekick in the ground. Yet, there has been a great enthusiasm among the cricket fans in the city as they count the days before they could get glimpse of actions unfurling in the green meadows of the Sports Hub. Though the Sports Hub had hosted a India-New Zealand T20I match last year, there is more passion among the fans now to watch the game as ODI is altogether a different ball game.
As per the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), tickets worth Rs 2.25 crore have been sold so far. With the maximum number of tickets usually sold on the immediate days prior to the event, the KCA expects nothing less than a packed house.“It will be a full-house crowd,” said Jayesh George, general convenor of the event.Jayesh said more than 20,000 tickets have been sold until now and the rest, he felt, would do gone in a week’s time. The capacity of the stadium is 40,000.
In the run-up to the match, the ground will host a test event, most probably this week. Jayesh said Kerala Ranji Trophy team will play among themselves in a bid to test the pitch condition.Apart from the pitch where the T20 match was played, another one has also been laid down. The test event will be held to check the bounce of the wicket.Meanwhile, the only concern among the organisers is the weather. During the T20 match, rain had played spoil sport and the match had to be truncated.
Though the weather forcasting agencies have so far not given any indication of rain on the match day, the KCA is not leaving anything to chance and have put in extra people to prepare the ground in case heavens open up.Work is also going on to prepare the floodlight according to the mandated lux levels. Contrary to the T20I, the players will have specific dressing rooms and they will come up just above the gallery.
Sports Hub Chief Operating Officer Ajay Padmanabhan appeared upbeat about the match and said the venue will be ready before the BCCI final inspection.“After a long time, Thiruvananthapuram is going to host a ODI match and we expect to offer the cricket lovers a great match experience. Preparation is in progress and we aim to be ready before the BCCI inspection,” Ajay added.