Virat Kohli’s presence boosts ticket sales and eases airport tension, video goes viral

Virat Kohli's two centuries turned a dull Vizag ODI into one of the country’s hottest matches, causing a big spike in ticket demand, a rush the ACA says is rare.

A couple of centuries by Virat Kohli has completely changed a match that was earlier expected to be dull in Vizag. It has now become one of the most in-demand games in the country, leading to a huge rise in ticket requests, a level of interest the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) says it has almost never seen.

When tickets for the third ODI between India and South Africa, set for Sunday, first went on sale on November 28, very few people were interested. Because the series wasn’t attracting much attention, officials even thought about opening offline ticket counters, even though this time the process was meant to be completely online.

But everything changed as soon as Kohli scored two centuries in a row in Ranchi and Raipur on November 30 and December 3. The ACA says the rush for tickets picked up immediately.

“The first phase of tickets went on sale on November 28. The response wasn’t good,” Y. Venkatesh from the ACA’s Media and Operations team told The Indian Express. “But after Kohli’s hundred at Ranchi, the second and third phases vanished in minutes. Nothing was left unsold.”

Ticket prices between Rs 1,200 and Rs 18,000 did not stop fans. The moment the former India captain returned to top ODI form, people rushed to the online ticket site. Much of the excitement comes from Kohli’s amazing record in Visakhapatnam, where he has an average of 97.83 in seven ODIs, including three centuries, a 99, and a 65.

Two days before the match, the excitement even reached the city’s airport. Eager fans gathered hours early to welcome the Indian team. They stayed despite several delays, as the team’s flight from Raipur kept getting postponed. By late afternoon, security staff were worn out from answering the same question over and over in many languages: “When are they landing?”

Where is the video?

King Kohli in Vizag. pic.twitter.com/CisS9tkvyH

— Virat Kohli Fan Club (@Trend_VKohli) December 4, 2025

Virat Kohli’s supporters stayed waiting even as the delay got longer. When the flight finally left Raipur around 6 pm, excitement rose again in Visakhapatnam.

Earlier in the day, Raipur Airport saw similar chaos. Passengers who were angry about delayed flights suddenly stopped arguing with airline staff the moment the Indian players showed up. As Kohli and the team stepped onto the escalator, the whole terminal burst into cheers, and travellers quickly pulled out their phones to record them. Just a few minutes later, people went back to being upset about their flights, a brief change in mood that showed how strongly Indian cricketers influence the public.

By the time the team arrived in Vizag on Thursday night, the excitement had grown even more. The city is now preparing for a full house at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, with Kohli once again being the main attraction.