Cricket lovers queue up outside Barabati Stadium in Cuttack to buy tickets for the India vs Australia one-day match. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack/Bhubaneswar, Oct. 23: In India, cricket is religion and enthusiasts of the game once again proved it before the rain god here today.

Despite the wet spell throughout the day, cricket lovers stood in serpentine queues outside the counters in Cuttack to grab their tickets for the fifth one-day match between India and Australia to be played at Barabati Stadium on October 26.

With the Aussies 2-1 up in the series, the Barabati tie assumes importance as the fourth one-dayer in Ranchi was washed away today.

Prashant Sahu, a young businessman from the flood-ravaged Balasore district, is one such enthusiast.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. They are the best teams in the world and it is a great opportunity for cricket fans in the state to watch them play,” the 29-year-old said.

Elaborate arrangements have been made to facilitate sale of tickets from three counters at Barabati Stadium.

There is strict vigil to maintain law and order. While barricades have been erected, closed-circuit television cameras have been installed near the counters.

Fans in Bhubaneswar, however, felt dejected with theOdisha Cricket Association deciding not to open a ticket counter in the city, unlike the last time when India took on West Indies in November 2011.

Authorities blamed it on the lukewarm response that the last match had drawn.

Of the 7,000 tickets that were put up for sale in Bhubaneswar, only 500 tickets were sold. “The cost for setting up a ticket sale counter would have been much more than the revenue generated through the sale,” said an official of the cricket association.

Cricket lovers, however, said a big-ticket match like that between India and Australia would have attracted many to the ticket counter in Bhubaneswar.

“Both the teams are fighting for the number one position. It will surely be an exciting contest. If not a counter, the authorities could at least have put up more online tickets for sale,” said Chandan Sahu.

An official of the cricket association said 16,453 tickets would be sold. While 4,451 tickets have already been booked online, 12,000 tickets were sold to various affiliated units of the association.

“Looking at the response for online tickets, we will increase their number in future,” said association secretary Ashirbad Behera.

Ticket or no ticket, fans here are praying that the match is not washed out. Behera, however, said that tickets would be refunded if the match was cancelled for rain or any other unforeseen reason.

The pitch has already been prepared and the authorities said it would be a low-scoring match. “We have already taken special measures to drain out water from the stadium and four wells have been dug up. Motor pumps are also being used. The association has two advanced soaker machines that will be also used to clear water from the outfield,” said association treasurer Satya Mohanty.

To keep security issued on a tight leash, police conducted a mock drill ahead of the teams’ visit.

The two sides are expected to arrive in Bhubaneswar at 3pm tomorrow. From the airport, the teams will be taken to Hotel Mayfair. Around 45 platoons of police force will be deployed for their security.