Vanished in minutes: Virat Kohli fever sells out Vizag ODI; Kaifs viral post captures crowd frenzy

NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli hasn’t just returned to form — he has set off a nationwide frenzy strong enough to sell out an entire stadium. Back-to-back centuries in Ranchi and Raipur have turned what was shaping up to be a low-interest ODI in Visakhapatnam into the hottest cricket ticket in India this week. According to officials at the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), Kohli’s stunning run-scoring spree single-handedly reversed sluggish online bookings for the third ODI against South Africa at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium.

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When tickets first went on sale digitally on November 28, the association braced for a disappointing turnout. The lack of buzz even pushed the ACA towards the rare option of setting up offline ticket counters despite committing to a fully digital system this time. But everything changed the moment Kohli unfurled a spectacular century in Ranchi on November 30. Suddenly, Phase 2 and 3 of ticket sales disappeared in minutes.

“The first phase response wasn’t good,” confirmed Y. Venkatesh from ACA’s Media and Operations department to The Indian Express. “After Kohli’s hundred at Ranchi, the second and third phases vanished in minutes. Nothing was left unsold.”

It wasn’t just victory that fans chased — it was the chance to witness a phenomenon. Kohli’s numbers in Vizag fuelled the madness: an average of 97.83 in seven ODIs, featuring three centuries and a 99. Even ticket prices ranging from Rs 1,200 to Rs 18,000 couldn’t slow demand.

The frenzy spilled into real life, too. Hours before Team India landed in Vizag, hundreds gathered at the airport, waiting through repeated flight delays from Raipur. Security guards were bombarded with one question in multiple languages: “When are they landing?” The answer mattered because Kohli was on board.

After his 53rd ODI century in Raipur, cricket legends poured in praise. But the loudest came from Mohammad Kaif, who summed up a nation’s emotion in eight simple words: “Without Kohli cricket is nothing… pure vintage!

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