A day before tickets are made available to the people, UPCA officials admitted there was no cricket fever as such, something unusual for a city known with a particular liking for the game.

UPCA spokesman IM Rastogi fears Tendulkar's absence, due to a groin injury, might take some sheen of the tie. "Had he been part of the squad, people would have thronged the stadium, hoping him to make up for the side's poor show in the Ahmedabad Test," Rastogi said.

The Green Park Stadium can accommodate 39,000 people and UPCA has already distributed the tickets to eight State Bank branches across the city, which will be available from Tuesday.

IIT student Chandrasekhar made it clear that this time he and his friends would prefer to stay back and watch the match on television.