The Virat Kohli craze has hit Visakhapatnam even before the former India captain landed on the Port City. With the series locked at 1-1 after the first two games, the third ODI between India and South Africa at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Saturday will be nothing short of a cracker of a contest.
According to a report on The Indian Express, tickets sales for the series-decider in Visakhapatnam weren't much as it was expected. Notably, the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) went fully online this time with the ticket sales. But the tickets were sold out in the blink of an eye after Kohli's match-winning hundred in Ranchi on November 30.
The tickets were priced between ₹1200 to ₹18000. “The first phase of tickets went on sale on November 28. The response wasn’t good. But a day before the second phase went on sale, Kohli scored that hundred at Ranchi. That changed everything.
"All of us know he has an outstanding record here… so when the second and third phase tickets went online, they vanished in minutes," Y Venkatesh, a member of ACA Media and Operations team, told the outlet.
Not just the ticket sales, even fans thronged the airport hoping to catch a glimpse of Kohli and the other Indian players on Thursday. However, they had to wait as the flight in which the Indian team was travelling from Raipur to Vizag got delayed.
Virat Kohli's ODI record in Visakhapatnam
Kohli has an outstanding record in Vizag in the 50-over format. The stylish right-hander played only seven games at this venue with 587 runs to his credit, including three hundreds and a score of 99. He scored his first hundred in Visakhapatnam in 2010 against Australia, followed by another ton against West Indies the next year.
Two years later, Kohli was dismissed for 99 against the Caribbeans before slamming an unbeaten 157 against the same opposition in 2018.
India vs South Africa ODI series so far
So far, India rode on centuries from Virat Kohli in both the ODIs to put a competitive score. In the first game in Ranchi, Kohli's 135 and half centuries from KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma helped India post 349/8. South Africa were bowled out for 332 in reply.
In the second game in Raipur, Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad scored hundreds to put 358/5 on board. However, Aiden Markram powered South Africa to a win with a brilliant innings of 110. The India vs South Africa 3rd ODI starts at 1:30 PM IST.
