Retiring Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan's search for a couple of passes for Saturday's World Cup final symbolised the region's insatiable thirst for the game and the popularity of its biggest spectacle. Muralitharan wants his Indian in-laws to be part of his international swansong and media reports said he had approached the local organisers to arrange some passes for them.
It was not known if the off-spinner was successful. "It's a small stadium and I guess it's not possible to accommodate everyone's demand," a Sri Lankan official told Reuters on Friday. Thousands of fans, who could not grab one of those 4000 tickets put on sale, are ready to beg, borrow or steal a ticket to be there. A group of five friends in New Delhi are flying into Mumbai after purchasing 5,000-rupee ($112.5) tickets for more than 12 times the actual cost.
Choosing Wankhede as the final venue raised a few eyebrows amid growing frustration for shortage of tickets as the 33,442-seater stadium has the second lowest capacity out of the eight Indian arenas hosting matches during the six-week tournament.
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