Thousands throng HPCA Stadium for IPL tie
Lalit Mohan
Dharamsala, May 17
Thousands of spectators from Himachal Pradesh and the adjoining states thronged the city today to watch the IPL match between Punjab Kings XI and Delhi Capitals at the international cricket stadium here.
An IPL match was hosted at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association’s (HPCA) Stadium here after 10 years. Sources available here said the craze for the IPL match was such that most of the tickets for the event were sold at a premium. Most of the high-end tickets including the club lounge and corporate boxes were sold out days before the match.
The HPCA officials were overwhelmed with calls for free passes from various corridors of powers within the district and the state. Due to limited availability of free passes, many officials in the district had to purchase tickets from their own pockets to please their seniors.
However, none of the senior leaders of the BJP or the Congress from the state came to watch the match today. Sources said some senior political leaders might come to watch the match scheduled on Friday.
The newly laid green pitch added to the beauty of the HPCA stadium, which is set in the backdrop of the Dhauladhar mountain ranges. Weather in the region was also perfect for hosting the match as the sky remained clear.
The matches have given a much-needed boost to tourism in the region this week. Police officials were deputed in different parts of the city to maintain smooth flow of traffic as spectators from adjoining states started gathering in the evening.
Gagandeep Sharma, a spectator from Punjab, said he had missed IPL matches in Dharamsala. “It was always a wonderful experience to watch IPL matches in Dharamsala cricket stadium in the backdrop of the Dhauladhar ranges. I hope the stadium will continue receiving more international and IPL matches,” he added.
Meanwhile, the police today arrested an HPCA employee, Mohamud Mushtak, who was working as a laundry man, on charges of selling tickets on the black market. The police have recovered 12 tickets from him. A case under Sections 353 and 332 of the IPC has been registered against him.
