India vs South Africa ODI: What type of wicket Raipur is expected to offer?
The ODI match between India and South Africa will be played at the Raipur International Cricket Stadium on December 3. The match will begin from 1.30 PM. Both teams arrived in Raipur on Monday from Ranchi on the same chartered flight. Crowds gathered at the airport to see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Upon arriving at the private hotel, a fan was overwhelmed on seeing Virat Kohli so close to her. She even offered him a rose. Kohli smiled and accepted the rose and moved on. However, the fan continued crying for some time.
At the Raipur airport, BCCI Vice Chairman Rajiv Shukla said that cricket is steadily growing in Chhattisgarh. With the number of international matches, Chhattisgarh has now become a significant destination in the cricket scene. We are continuously working on the development of the cricket stadium, he said.
Raipur expected to offer a sporting wicket
The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur is India’s third-largest cricket ground, behind only Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. While its long square boundaries could make clearing the ropes challenging, the fast outfield — similar to the one in Ranchi — might help offset that difficulty by speeding up ground strokes.
Raipur, hosting its first international match in three years, is expected to offer a sporting wicket that provides a fair contest between bat and ball. Historically, the pitch here has favoured fast bowlers more than spinners.
Earlier, those who had booked tickets online in the first phase of the indoor stadium arrived to purchase physical tickets. Reserved seats for students were also sold last Monday, with crowds gathering at the counter as early as 4 am.
However, student ticket sales began at 10 am. During this, there was pushing and shoving among the young men standing in the front line. The girls even tried to break through the barricades. During this, the girls also argued with the police. The police had to use mild force to control the crowd.