VISAKHAPATNAM : It is the 11th match and so far the IPL-8 has drawn full crowd in the most of the venues played starting from the opening match at Eden Gardens. Hence, expectations for the first match between hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here were naturally high. But to the surprise of all, a moderate crowd turned up for the match. But interestingly, the Eastern Stand saw a very good crowd with denominations of `600 and `750. But the higher denominations of `1000, `1,100, `1,250, `1,500, `2,000 and `5,000 evoked poor response.
An Andhra Cricket Association official said the tickets were too high for the people to see the match. “Usually, we have a very good crowd for any international match. But I think the rates were too high,” said an ACA official. The official added the Sunrisers did not have proper ticket counters.
Interestingly, the Sunrisers, who are handling the show, reduced the prices of the tickets against Kolkata Knight Riders, that will be played on April 18. That is a 4 pm match.
But the small crowd at Eastern Stand did make up for the lesser crowds with much noise and the usual fanfare.