The novel coronavirus outbreak and inclement weather here have affected the ticket sales for the opening ODI of the three-match series between India and South Africa. Only 16,000 tickets out of 22,000 were sold till Tuesday for the series opener at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium. The numbers, though, are expected to rise as the orgainsers are still awaiting sales figures from online partners paytm.

"We have sold around 16,000 tickets over the counter but we still haven't got sales figures from paytm. Normally, the demand for tickets of international matches here are huge but the coronavirus outbreak has taken a toll this time," a top HPCA official told PTI. "Foreign fans, which amount to around 1,000 are not travelling this time because of various travel advisories. We used to cater to a lot of spectators from adjoining Punjab, Harayana and Delhi which is not notable this time because of the current situation." Not a single journalist from South Africa is touring with the national team for the series. The HPCA, on its part, have put in place huge hoardings both inside and outside the ground, educating people on precautionary measures against coronavirus. "We have placed hoardings throughout the stadium informing spectators about preventive measures from coronavirus," the official said.