Rs 0 was the ticket price.
40,000 is the estimate of people who surged into Wankhede for the last odi between India and England.
5,000 was the number of tickets officially sold. The rest were gifts to sponsors and 'important' people.
Rs 200 is how much many people paid before being turned away at the gates because the stands were already full.
4 is the number of hours before an odi starts in Mumbai that the spectators have to be in their seats.
8 is the number of hours spectators in most of the stands have to hold their bladders during a one-day match.
600 was the number of cops officially deployed inside Wankhede.
2,000 was the number of cops inside attempting to "control the crowds".
50 is the number of years for which corporates who gave money to build Wankhede have to be given free tickets.
2is the time some kids in crowded coaching camps wait to bat in the nets
During the third ODI against England in Chennai, cops stopped ticket-holders at the gates and tasted every soft drink to check for alcohol. In many cases, they gulped down half the bottle.
Chefs from Tendulkar's travelled to London's Signor Sassi, Mango Tree and Hakkasan restaurants to borrow the recipes of some of Sachin's favourite dishes. The Bombay Duck is one from the recipe book of Tendulkar’s mother.
"The average cricket fan has been compromised."
– Ratnagar Shetty, joint secretary, Mumbai Cricket Association, while admitting that giving away free tickets to corporates andVIPs has increased prices of saleable tickets.
44,600 is the Google search results for 'Sachin Tendulkar, Cricket'
22,300 is the Google search results for 'Adam Gilchrist, Cricket'
2,500 is the estimated number of coaching camps in Mumbai.
20 is the number of coaches in Mumbai who have some qualifications to teach cricket.
400 hours is approximately the time a fervent Indian fan spends watching cricket every year.
...These people now stood outside the grounds once more in the great Indian queue, faces painted, carrying food in "transparent packages", waiting to get in and find their lawful 14-inch haunch-space. The cops abused and shooed many of them away because the East stand was mysteriously full before all ticket-holders could get in. Outside the Vinoo Mankad Gate, they beat up some people. Outside the Polly Umrigar entrance, the cops asked an elderly man with a special pass to go back home, till someone yelled out that the man's name, strangely, was Polly Umrigar. Behind him was a sea of humanity knocking on hell's door not knowing what was in store. Those who got in by falling on strangers in front as a method of movement suddenly wanted to go back home, find a way out from the heat and dust and chaos. The hordes in the East stand went without water or food and sometimes, air. Truly R.K. Laxman's common men. The Rs 200-per-ticket beings, hopelessly in love with a game that, like a bad marriage, gave them nothingbut sorrow.
– Shaw'sFools,
Outlook,
Feb 18, 2002
