75,000 fans expected on first day of MCG test match

Melbourne: A massive crowd is expected to turn up for the opening Test of the four-match India-Australia series as eager fans don’t want to miss batting greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in action on probably their last trip Down Under. “Cricket Australia officials are banking on more than 75,000 fans attending the MCG for the opening day of the four-Test series,” reported ’the Age. CA spokesman Peter Young said the turnout is expected to be good for the eagerly-anticipated series starting here on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_161998” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The Melbourne Cricket Ground is famous for the crowd turnout it generates. Reuters”]  [/caption] “Melbourne has got the biggest walk-up rate of any ground in the world. If you want to get good seats, then you should book ahead,” Young said. Young said CA expects more than 45,000 fans to come for second day’s action. “They are running stronger than we had originally expected. As far as Melbourne is concerned, the city seems to be in love with Test cricket,” Young said. The only dampener could be the weather with met department forecasting thunderstorm on the opening day. “The morning looks quite hot. (But there’s) quite likely to be a delayed start to play,” Weatherzone’s Alex Zadnik said. “It’s a bit early to be sure. (But) the odds are for a wet start (to the Test). It’s likely that a few showers might linger on Tuesday the 27th, but nothing heavy. However, the whole Test isn’t likely to be rained out, He added. PTI