4,000 tickets for second India-Australia T20 up for sale on Sunday

Guwahati, Oct 7 - Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Vice President Devajit Saikia Lon on Saturday said around 4000 tickets for the second India-Australia T20 International have been returned by the different district cricket associations which will be up for grabs for the general public on Sunday.

While the FIFA Under-17 World Cup Group Stage matches will start at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here from Sunday, the craze for cricket has refused to die down in this part of the country.

"It's sold out, hours after we announced the online sale on October 2. But we have planned to sell a further around 4000 tickets, which have come back from the district associations. The sale will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday," Lon told IANS over phone.

Despite warnings from the Met department of thunderstorms and rain on Tuesday, Saikia said that the newly-built ACA Barsapara Stadium is all set to host the North East's first encounter under floodlights.

Asked about the preparations for the match, Saikia said: "The state's Public Works Department has done a wonderful job by reconstructing the main approach roads to the stadium. Two new bridges have come up, one was repaired and the Bharalu river near the stadium has been cleaned up completely to avoid any odour."

Saikia also informed that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will formally inaugurate the stadium on October 10 just before the start of the match.

Both the teams will arrive in the city on Sunday after completion of Saturday's T20I at Ranchi.

The Australian side will arrive for practice on Monday morning while the hosts will hit the nets in the evening, Saikia said.

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IANS