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Champions Trophy final in Dubai: Tickets sold out in 40 minutes after India wins semis
India will take on the winners of the second semifinal between New Zealand and South Africa, in Dubai on Sunday, March 9
- PUBLISHED: Tue 4 Mar 2025, 9:33 PM
In less than 40 minutes, all Champions Trophy final tickets were sold out on the official website, on Tuesday. The tickets went on sale at 10pm (UAE time), and all of them — from the Dh250 General Admission to the Dh12,000 Sky Box were gone by 10.40pm.
After a riveting match between India and Australia on Tuesday, with Virat Kohli consistently sticking around for 84 runs — Indian cricket fans have been eagerly looking forward to watching the Men in Blue play another exciting game in the Champions Trophy final.
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India will take on the winners of the second semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa, in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. The second semi-final is on Wednesday in Lahore.
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Tickets sold out
On Tuesday, more than 100,000 people were waiting in queue to access the ticketing page at 10pm. Indian expat Aman Kumar was one among them. The 25-year-old said he waited for "over an hour" only to find out that the tickets had been sold out.
Once the website made the tickets accessible, buyers were placed in a queue and had 10 minutes to access the website.
The 25-year-old Dubai resident, however, was not dejected as he was "just trying [his] luck". "I knew they would be sold out," he said.
Unlike him, Pooja R, said that she felt a "repetition of the disappointment" she felt while trying to get tickets for the India-Pakistan match. Last month, ahead of the India-Pakistan match (which is also dubbed as the 'greatest rivalry' in cricket), tickets were sold out twice. Once, when they were first released and again, when an additional batch was announced.
The Indian expat said she stood in queue online for "nearly an hour", but will still continue "cheering on team India from behind the screen".
In December 2024, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed Dubai as a neutral venue to host the India matches. People have been flying in from across the globe to catch the games here, with many Indian celebrities even being spotted at the Dubai International Stadium.
Who will they face in the final?
South Africa will re-embark on an agonising quest for their first piece of ICC silverware since 1998 when they face New Zealand in Wednesday's semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Lahore, the scene of a high-scoring tussle between the duo last month.
The pair have faced each other in the 50-over format just twice since 2019 - most recently in Lahore in a Tri-Series fixture on February 10.
South Africa will pack much more of a punch in the bowling department this time round, with fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen as well as wily spinner Keshav Maharaj in their attack.
(With inputs from Reuters)
