Cyclone 'Kyant' threat looms over India - New Zealand 5th ODI at Vizag

Cricket fans today had a worrying news awaiting this morning as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) revealed the threat of an impending cyclone ‘Kyant’ at Vizag, the venue for the crucial fifth and the final ODI between India and New Zealand. The cyclone threat, however, has not deterred the Vizag crowd from booking the tickets as nearly 60% of the tickets have already been sold for the match which is to be played on October 29.

Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA) secretary K Parthasaradi told TOI, “We hope that cyclone Kyant does not hit the city like cyclone Hudhud. Nearly 60% of the tickets have been sold out as on Wednesday. If there is any rainfall, it will affect the practice of the players, who will arrive here on October 27,” Parthasaradi said.

The capacity of the stadium is around 27,500. The Mee-Seva centres were asked to sell 12,000 tickets of Rs 400 denomination, 5,900 tickets of Rs 1,000 denomination, 2,600 tickets of Rs 1,500, 600 tickets of Rs 2,000, 600 tickets of Rs 3,000 and 300 tickets of Rs 5,000 denominations.

One of the curators at the VDCA stadium said there would be no problem if the rain or winds under the influence of the cyclone stopped just four to five hours before the match, as the rainwater on the stadium ground can be drained out in just three hours with super soppers and advanced drainage system.

“We had successfully conducted the ODI match between India and West Indies on November 24, 2013, after the rain stopped just a few hours before the match. However, a T-20 match between India and New Zealand on September 8, 2012, was called off without a ball being bowled following heavy rains,” the curator said.