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Ahead of the ICC World Cup semi-final between India and Australia in Sydney on Thursday, a war of words has broken out on the digital platform between fans of the two countries.
On Monday, Australian captain Michael Clarke took to Twitter to seek support for his side from fans, amid reports about 70 per cent of the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) had been booked by Indians. Clarke tweeted, "I call on all Australian cricket lovers to paint the SCG gold on Thursday. We need your support #goldout". This was followed by another tweet: "Bring your flags, shirts, hats #goldout".
Indian fans, meanwhile, decided to have their share of fun at the expense of the hashtag, terming it "Gold-Out", indicating Australia's ouster from the tournament. They also started a new hashtag 'Blue-in', with many starting another, 'Bleed Blue', made popular by Nike.
A Twitter user with the handle Big Bang Theorist wrote, "Absolutely...Gold Out and #BlueIn RT @MClarke23: Bring your flags, shirts, hats. #goldout", while another fan tweeted, "@MClarke23 #GoldOut in Semis #BlueIn the finals."
According to reports, the Swami Army (a premier Indian cricket fan group) has claimed Thursday's semi-final will be the biggest "Down Under Indian sporting event of all time". Various reports have stated as many as 70 per cent of the tickets for the match at the SCG, which has a capacity of about 42,000, have been bought by Indian fans.
Earlier in the tournament, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, too, had turned into a sea of blue, with Indian fans thronging the stadium to support their team against South Africa. "I have been to Eden Gardens (Kolkata) and that day felt just like that. The atmosphere and energy, along with the staggering visual of more than 60,000 Indian fans, is something that can intimidate any team (playing against India)," said a fan present at the stadium that day.
News agencies reported New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum wrote to employers in the country to relieve employees from work so that they could come and support their country during the South Africa-New Zealand semi-final, to be played at Eden Park, Auckland, on Tuesday.
Standalone tickets for Thursday's match on the ICC ticketing portal have been sold out. These ranged from A$30 (Rs 1,459) to A$275 (Rs 13,377), significantly higher than tickets for the New Zealand-South Africa semi-final at A$26 (Rs 1,264) to A$170 (Rs 8,269).
On international ticketing website viagogo.com, fans will have to spend A$355.75 (Rs 17,305) to A$2,563.35 (Rs 1,24,693) for Thursday's match, while for the South Africa-New Zealand match, tickets are priced at A$153 to A$447 each.
The hospitality programme on the ICC website also shows a stark difference in the anticipation and, consequently, the demand for tickets for the India-Australia match. While in the case of the Auckland match, tickets have largely been available even on the eve of the match (on the ICC hospitality portal), tickets for the match at the SCG are fast disappearing. Here, too, tickets for Thursday's match are costlier than those for the South Africa-New Zealand tie. For the first semi-final, a 'premium buffet' package costs A$890 (Rs 43,293), while for the match at the SCG, it costs A$1,190 (Rs 57,887).
The ICC also offers travel packages for the two matches, which include an official ticket and either a city-travel pass or a hotel stay. Packages for the South Africa-New Zealand match, ranging from A$135 (Rs 6,567) to A$450 (Rs 21,890), have been sold out. At the time of going to print, packages for the India-Australia match were available for A$255 (Rs 12,404) to A$725 (Rs 35,267) per person.
