Virat Kohli will return to another one of his hunting grounds for the India vs South Africa 3rd ODI on Saturday. Kohli has turned back the clock in this series with back to back centuries in Ranchi and Raipur. Given the 37-year-old's form, ticket sales rocketed and were sold out within minutes after a slow start to the process.
After a 74 not out in Sydney, Kohli has gone up a gear with a stellar 135 in Ranchi, followed by 102 in Raipur. He has the opportunity to make a hat-trick of centuries and fans have jumped at the chance of buying tickets.
“The first phase of tickets went on sale on November 28. The response wasn’t good. But a day before the second phase went on sale, Kohli scored that hundred at Ranchi. That changed everything. All of us know he has an outstanding record here… so when the second and third phase tickets went online, they vanished in minutes,” Y Venkatesh, who is part of Andhra Cricket Association’s Media and Operations team told The Indian Express.
The report states the Andhra Cricket Association were keen on selling tickets offline through their counters. However given the Virat Kohli buzz, they shifted to a completely online model for tickets. The prices ranged Rs 1,200 to 18,000 and every single of them were bought. The ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakhapatnam hosts 27,500.
India arrive in Vizag after a disappointing defeat in Raipur. South Africa chased down 359 for a joint record chase against India with a century from Aiden Markram. Matthew Breetzke and Dewald Brevis scored valuable half-centuries and a late cameo from Corbin Bosch sealed victory. India will aim to avoid a second consecutive series defeat, having also lost to Australia last month.
