Ahmedabad, November 5:

Partially empty stands might disappoint the Indian and Sri Lankan cricket teams here on Sunday as until Saturday morning only 50 per cent of the tickets had been sold for the day-night match. Team India’s 4-0 series win and rumours of likely absence of star players like Sachin Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan could be responsible for the lower ticket sales. In April this year tickets for an India-Pakistan Pakistan match at the Motera stadium here were sold out barely three hours after the window opened. But this time the zeal of cricket fans seems to have hit rock bottom.

Tickets for open stands were sold out within two days after the counter opened on October 28, but sales for higher rated tickets have been discouraging. Gujarat Cricket Association president Narhari Amin was, however, hopeful. “We have one more day and we expect to have 100 per cent attendance. People here love cricket and they won’t miss an opportunity to see their team winning,” Amin said. “To improve India’s performance in ICC’s ODI standing, they need to win the series comprehensively and I don’t think even the Indian team will take the remaining one-dayers lightly,” he added.