Excitement, thrill and a lot of heartburns

Packed stands, deafening roars and a silent tribute. This is how the Delhi crowd welcomed it star players and the visiting Australian team for the third one-dayer at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Saturday, reports Heena Zuni Pandit.

Packed stands, deafening roars and a silent tribute. This is how the Delhi crowd welcomed it star players and the visiting Australian team for the third one-dayer at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Saturday.

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Before the start of the engrossing contest and before all the hullabaloo, a two-minute silence was observed in memory of umpire David Shepherd who passed away on October 27. Players of both teams and their support staff lined up to say a silent prayer for the affable 69-year-old British umpire, who died of cancer at age 68.

But what followed was a deafening roar inside the stadium and lots of heartburns outside. While at least three of the stands were jam-packed, none of the tickets were sold set up outside the Ambedkar Stadium on Friday.

Disappointment was writ large on the faces of the fans who had queued up on Friday for the tickets but went home dejected as the counters never opened. On Saturday morning, they came again only to see the tickets for stands booked for students and DDCA league players selling for three times the printed price.