India, who is the first team to qualify for ODI World Cup 2023 semifinal, will be facing South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 5.
Kolkata: Despite Kolkata Police nabbing a few individuals for black-marketing India vs South Africa ODI World Cup 2023 match tickets to be held at the Eden Gardens on November 5 in recent days, a Bangladeshi national has got into the business for quick money ahead of the high-octane clash in the City of Joy. The incident took place on Thursday (November 2) night when the person involved, approached this correspondent on WhatsApp. The message came from a Bangladeshi mobile number with the country code +880.
Named Ishmam (as per his Whatsapp profile), the person crossed the border for Bangladesh’s two ODI World Cup 2023 matches at the iconic Eden Gardens. However, Bangladesh lost both their games in Kolkata against Netherlands and Pakistan and are out of semi-final contention.
According to bookmyshow.com, ICC’s ticketing partner for the ODI World Cup 2023, the tickets for India vs South Africa clash on Sunday are being sold out. Ishmam messaged that he has a friend who can manage tickets in C1, D1, B1, L1 and G1 (upper blocks at Eden Gardens) for Rs 5000. Upon checking on the website, the original price for a ticket in the G1 block is Rs 900 (five times less than what is being asked for). The ticket prices for the other above-mentioned blocks are also believed to be around the Rs 900 range.
With the local authorities on high alert for black marketing of tickets, Ishmam asked this correspondent to pay 50 per cent beforehand after which he will be sending Bookmyshow login credentials. Using the given credentials, the correspondent has to change the pass to his name and confirm the booking. Following the confirmed booking, the remaining money needs to be.
Asked if this is any part of scam, Ishmam assured, “You can trust me. If you need it (tickets), you can take it through face-to-face deal.” Fake tickets, tickets being sold at higher rates have been one of the major talking points in this competition.
Earlier in the week, Kolkata Police detained a person for selling tickets priced at Rs 2500 for a mammoth Rs 11,000. A total of 20 tickets were seized from him. A similar thing happened before the India vs Australia encounter in Chennai when the local police arrested four persons. Things got a notch above before the India vs England encounter in Lucknow when police busted a racket who were selling fake tickets through a website.
As far as the action inside the stadium is concerned, the Men in Blue are coming to Kolkata after securing their semi-final spot following a huge 302-run win over Sri Lanka on Thursday in Mumbai. India are the only unbeaten side in the tournament with seven wins.
South Africa are sitting second with six wins from seven games and are certain to make it to the last four along with the hosts. Australia, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Pakistan fight for the last two spots.