NEW DELHI: The third Test against England at the revamped Motera stadium in Ahmedabad is expected to see a healthy crowd of spectators. The world’s largest cricket stadium has a capacity of 110,000, and the Gujarat Cricket Association‘s (GCA) has decided to allow 50% of the capacity during the third Test.
This means 55,000 tickets will be on sale and this will be the first sporting event which will see such a strong crowd since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic last March.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) is hopeful that the cap on spectators will be removed in the coming days. “The GCA has decided on a 50 per cent capacity. There isn’t much rush yet but it is expected that the sales will pick up in the coming 3-4 days. This will be the first international match at this revamped venue. And with the third Test being a day-night affair, one expects a lot of people to come in. At the moment, GCA is expecting at least 30,000 spectators on the first day of the Test. We might have a function to mark the occasion,” a BCCI source told TOI on Tuesday.
No decision on pitch yet
Motera has two kinds of pitches ready for the next two Tests. The stadium has a square of 11 pitches and six of them are made with red soil while the rest are regular ones. “Both options will be given to the BCCI. There are couple of pitches of each kind prepared for the Test. The BCCI curator is supervising the preparation and a call on the pitch will be taken once the teams reach Ahmedabad,” the source informed.