The ground of Veer Surrendra Sai Stadium being readied to host the Ranji trophy match in Sambalpur. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Dec.1: Residents here are waiting with bated breath to witness some power-packed action at the VSS Stadium as Odisha takes on Delhi in the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament from December 6.

With the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra in the rival side, the match is expected to be a crowd puller. What’s better? Spectators won’t have to shell out a single penny to catch them on field.

The VSS Stadium, which has earlier hosted two Deodhar Trophy matches, has six galleries and can accommodate around 20,000 spectators. This will be the 14th Ranji match here.

Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) vice-president Dulal Chandra Pradhan said all educational institutions in the city had been informed about the game.

“We expect a large number of cricket lovers to throng the stadium. Preparations for the match have already reached its final stage. A team of Board of Control for Cricket in India inspected the pitch and outfield, and have expressed satisfaction over the arrangements,” said Pradhan, who is also the general secretary of district athletic association.

BCCI curator Pankaj Pattnaik said: “The pitch is favourable for both bowling and batting. The players will definitely find it helpful.”

Players of both the teams will arrive in Sambalpur on Tuesday.

“We have informed the superintendent of police and requested him to provide adequate security. We have also decided to deploy private security guards for the match,” said Pradhan.

The budget for this match is estimated at Rs 10 lakh, which will be sponsored by the OCA.

Cricket lovers here seemed excited about the upcoming match. “This is a grand opportunity for us to watch international cricketers playing on our ground. My friends and I will never want to miss it,” said Kamalakshya Pruseth, a student.