Nikhil Wadhwani’s decision to buy a ticket for the hotly anticipated India versus Pakistan match at the men’s Cricket World Cup is turning out to be the former derivatives trader’s best bet ever.
The 32-year-old Mumbai native, who now works at a fintech company, in August bought a 2,500 rupee ($30) ticket for Saturday’s match. After a change of plans, he decided to resell the ticket on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, scoring 22,000 rupees for it.
“I was absolutely shocked to see the demand,” said Wadhwani, who used to work on Nomura Holdings Inc.’s trading desk in India’s financial capital. “I got a flurry of messages with offers much larger than I expected.”
Wadhwani’s experience is indicative of the excitement over the match-up between the two political and sporting foes during the World Cup, which India is hosting again after 12 years. When the two sides meet in Ahmedabad’s massive Narendra Modi Stadium, renamed two years ago after the country’s sitting prime minister, it will be the first time in seven years that Pakistan plays on Indian soil.
1/10:ODI World Cup: Rohit Sharma's record ton powers India to win over Afghanistan
2/10:Rohit surpasses Sachin
<p>Captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday surpassed compatriot Sachin Tendulkar with a record seventh World Cup century to lead India to a crushing eight-wicket win over Afghanistan.<br /><br /><br /></p>ANI
3/10:India register second straight win
<p>Chasing 273 for victory in New Delhi, the hosts rode on Rohit's 131 to achieve their target in 35 overs for a second straight win in the 50-over showpiece event.<br /><br /><br /></p>PTI
4/10:Fastest century by an Indian in World Cup
<p>Rohit's century was also the fastest by an Indian in a World Cup, quicker than Kapil Dev's hundred in 72 balls against Zimbabwe in 1983. He went past Tendulkar's record of six tons in World Cups.<br /></p>ANI
5/10:Rohit becomes leading six-hitter in international cricket
<p>Rohit hit the ball to all parts of the ground as he reached 1,000 World Cup runs and then went past Chris Gayle's record of 553 sixes across all formats.<br /></p>
6/10:Rashid gets rid of Rohit
<p>The dashing opener hit 16 fours and five sixes in his 84-ball knock before being bowled by leg-spinner Rashid Khan.<br /></p>AP
7/10:Big opening partnership
<p>His opening partnership of 156 with the left-handed Ishan Kishan, who made 47, extended the team's dominance after a good bowling show on a batting-friendly pitch.<br /></p>ANI
8/10:Kohli finishes it off in style
<p>Superstar cricketer and Delhi-born Virat Kohli soon took over to hit an unbeaten 55 and finished the match with a boundary.<br /></p>Getty Images
9/10:Afghanistan post 272-8
<p>Afghanistan posted 272-8 after electing to bat at the ground which witnessed a World Cup record 754 runs scored in the previous match when South Africa posted 428 and defeated Sri Lanka.<br /></p>ANI
10/10:Bumrah claims 4-wicket haul
<p>Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah stood out for the home side with his best World Cup bowling figures of 4-39.<br /></p>PTIThe sport is among the last remaining exchanges between the neighboring nations, whose relationship has always been confrontational, but worsened further since India’s launched cross-border strikes in 2019 following attacks in the disputed region of Kashmir by Pakistan-based militants.
Actors from Pakistan are also prohibited from India’s Bollywood movies, and its cricketers cannot play in the top-flight Indian Premier League. The match is a rare moment for fans to see Pakistan players in the flesh, though the team and fans have faced delays in being issued Indian visas.
“These matches don’t happen often enough,” said Aditya Chidurala, a San Francisco-based tech worker who secured tickets to at least five games, including the India-Pakistan clash. “They are arch-rivals and fans are super passionate about it.”
Some desperate fans splurged on what they thought were last-minute tickets, only later to find that the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the sport’s governing body in the country, had been withholding tickets. It announced the sale of an unspecified amount of tickets on Wednesday and on Sunday offered 14,000 passes.
One of these fans was Perumandla Vamshi Krishna from Telangana, who bought two tickets in September for about 170,000 rupees off a secondary ticketing platform, after the official one showed that the game was sold out. The newly offered Sunday tickets were selling for 1% of what the 28-year-old paid.
The fiasco has adding to broader complaints about the ticketing process for the World Cup. Seats for the India-Afghanistan match on Wednesday went on sale just a day before, and those for India’s opening game on Saturday against Australia were made available once again in a last-minute sale that morning.
Meanwhile, the official ticketing website still says that tickets for future India matches that haven’t yet been made available are “coming soon.”
“It reflects poorly on the overall management of the tournament,” said Neeraj Kumar, a former police chief and head of the anti-corruption unit of India’s cricketing body. “The sale should have been done in a timely manner.” The BCCI didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Some fans, however, say they enjoy the chase for tickets and that the last-minute sales have boosted their chances.
“We now have multiple chances to view these matches,” said Kartik Kannan, a Bengaluru-based product manager who runs a WhatsApp group for fans called “Team India’s 12th Man Army,” a reference to the cricketing term used for a reserve player.
The lack of transparency over ticket sales, however, means cricket devotees have to go the extra length to stay on top of the process. Chidurala in San Francisco had asked his friends in India to wake him up at any hour as soon as they see tickets go on sale.
“It is serious business,” Chidurala said.
