India vs South Africa: JSCA to give 5,000 free tickets to CRPF Jawans and Armymen

When it comes to cricket in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s hometown, the men in uniform are never far away. In March, the former India captain took a special initiative whereby the Indian team played an ODI in Ranchi against Australia sporting army caps to show solidarity with the martyred para-soldiers of the Pulwama suicide terror attack in February. And now, the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) has maintained the tradition of honouring the men in uniform by announcing 5,000 free tickets for them during the third and final Test match against South Africa starting Saturday.

This will only be the second time that JSCA will be hosting a Test match. The only other time it organised a Test match was in March 2017 when India took on Australia and the game ended in a draw with as many as four hundreds getting scored. Two Indians had scored centuries on that occasion and both of them are playing this time as well – Cheteshwar Pujara (202) and Wriddhiman Saha (117).

CRPF jawans, Armymen, NCC cadets to get the tickets

“We have set aside around five thousand tickets to the match for our CRPF jawans, army men and NCC cadets,” JSCA secretary Sanjay Sahay was quoted as saying by the Times of India. “It is our tribute to the men in uniform, we have also distributed tickets among school children in different districts.”

In March, it was Dhoni – an honorary lieutenant in the Indian Army – who had handed out the camouflage caps to the Indian players. This time, however, Dhoni will not be on the ground since he has quit Test cricket five years ago. The March incident had created quite a stir with the Pakistan Cricket Board lodging a protest with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The ICC though had turned it down.

The Proteas, meanwhile, had a less convenient experience in Ranchi upon arrival. It was reported that the visiting players had to walk all the way to another hotel because their bus had g0t stuck at the venue where they were originally accommodated. The BCCI booked another hotel for Faf du Plessis’ men which is 13 kilometers away from the stadium.

India have already won the three-match series by pocketing the first two games in Visakhapatnam and Pune by 203 runs and an innings and 137 runs, respectively.

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