HYDERABAD: Why doesn’t the home team win matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium? Is it jinxed? Is it a Vaastu related problem? The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) hosted three one-day internationals (two against Australia and one against South Africa) and India have lost all the three matches.For the Deccan Chargers, it has been a string of defeats in the IPL. They lost 14 matches in the last three seasons including six this year. The franchise team tried its best, even changing dressing rooms and performing puja but all in vain.The Chargers were clueless and remained winless.The streak of defeats led the officials to believe that Vaastu was not right for the stadium. The HCA, finally after consulting a few astrologers, decided to instal a Ganesh idol in front of the main entrance of the stadium. HCA Secretary DS Chalapathi said it was always good to have a Ganesh idol at the entrance.With the installation of the idol, cricket lovers hope that lady luck will smile on the home team when the beleaguered squad plays the first ODI against England at the venue on Friday. “Ganesh Maharaj will definitely be a good omen,’’ said an official.Meanwhile, ticket sales for the match have been brisk ever since the counters opened on Tuesday. But it seems quite a few were left and on Wednesday morning, some cricket lovers who tried their luck were pleasantly surprised to find the e-Seva centres almost empty and tickets even of the denomination of Rs 300 available. “I was expecting a long queue and instead, I hardly found two or three persons at the counter.I walked in thrice to purchase Rs 300 tickets. However, when I returned in the afternoon, there was a big crowd and the tickets were sold out by then,’’ said a fan. At the Uppal stadium, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team mates had the first session of nets on Wednesday afternoon.Dhoni inspected the pitch along with HCA president Arshad Ayub and curator YL Chandrasekhar. He had a chat wi t h Chandrasekhar regarding the wicket.“It will played on the same pitch on which the Champions League matches were played. In one such match, about 160 runs were scored. I expect the ball to come nicely onto the bat,’’ said Chandrasekhar.
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