After fans were lathi-charged in Bangalore before the India-England match, the Nagpur fans were given the same treatment ahead of the India-South Africa clash. With both matches being the most high profile ones of the league stage, demand was expected to be sky high, but after the furore the Bangalore incident created, there weren't expected to be more such incidents.However, ticket seekers outside the Vidharbha Cricket Association in Nagpur had to face the police baton. After the police had to resort to a lathi-charge, the ticket counter was closed. The India-South Africa clash is eagerly awaited and because of that there were many fans who had gathered to buy tickets. Ticket sales at this World Cup have come under a lot of scrutiny and criticism for the manner in which they have been made available to the fans.
Just over 10 days ago, the ICC said blocked tickets will be sold through a ballot system for the remaining World Cup 2011 matches, especially the semifinals and the final, in view of the unprecedented demands from fans. Cricket's governing body has also admitted that there were fewer number of tickets for the public through general sales, as majority of the tickets were reserved for sponsors, channel partners, clubs, and associations affiliated to the BCCI.
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