Mumbai, India<\/strong> \u2013 For millions of Indians, the ghosts of a home Cricket World Cup defeat to Australia still haunt their memories two years on from the final in Ahmedabad.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a wound that still stings the cricket-mad nation of at least 1.4 billion people, tens of thousands of whom thronged the world\u2019s largest cricket stadium on 19 November 2023, and millions of others who followed the game elsewhere.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n But just as the heartbreak of the \u201ccursed day\u201d brought them together two years ago, local fans hope that this Sunday will give them a reason to celebrate as India face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final at the same venue.<\/p>\n A stunned crowd of more than 90,000 watched in silence as Australia crushed India with a six-wicket victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium, turning the undefeated home side\u2019s crowning moment into a day where thousands of seats had emptied before the final ball was bowled.<\/p>\n The sombre atmosphere was akin to a prophecy come true as, on the eve of the 2023 final, Australia\u2019s captain Pat Cummins famously said: \u201cIn sport, there\u2019s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe 2023 final defeat is still on our minds,\u201d Sounak Biswas, a 29-year-old fan from Mumbai, told Al Jazeera. \u201cSocial media posts calling the Ahmedabad stadium a bad omen keep reinforcing that thought.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Sunday, I hope I can forget those bad memories and create happier ones.\u201d<\/p>\n The collective mood of the country \u2013 from fans to experts and the media \u2013 is optimistic.<\/p>\n Oddsmakers have given India a 70 percent chance of defeating New Zealand to become the first host nation to retain its title, local media have thrown their weight behind Suryakumar Yadav\u2019s team to cross the final hurdle and cricket chatter has taken centre stage at workplaces, homes and outdoor gatherings.<\/p>\n Come Sunday, fans will throng pubs, roadside cafes and restaurants from Mumbai to Kolkata and Chennai to Chandigarh to catch the action on large screens or their smartphones. While those without internet access will gather outside electronics stores, a pane of glass separating them from the live broadcast playing on the high-end televisions inside.<\/p>\n Then there are those fans who will undertake journeys from all corners of the country to Ahmedabad in order to watch the action from up close and soak in the atmosphere of a World Cup final.<\/p>\n Mumbai-based fan Biswas and his friend Piyush Nathani will join another 30 or so members of the \u201cNorth Stand Gang\u201d \u2013 a hardcore fan group from the Wankhede Stadium \u2013 as they carry their support to the neighbouring state.<\/p>\n For Nathani, Sunday\u2019s final will cap an exhilarating journey of watching the monthlong tournament across stadiums in India and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n Through the ups and downs of Team India\u2019s campaign, he has held on to one small ritual and he won\u2019t change it for the big match.<\/p>\n \u201cI wear the same jersey and pair of trousers for every game,\u201d the 29-year-old said.<\/p>\n India\u2019s route to the final included its fair share of hiccups: the co-hosts didn\u2019t look their strongest against minnows USA in their opening game, fell to South Africa in the next stage and were pushed to the brink by England in the semifinals.<\/p>\n But in their pursuit of victory, a different player stepped up as the team began to falter.<\/p>\n From the ever-reliable pace-bowling star Jasprit Bumrah and versatile all-rounder Hardik Pandya to young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and the stunning Sanju Samson, who made a sparkling return to the playing XI, India never fell short of match-winners.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Indian team is by far the best in the tournament because of the quality in the squad,\u201d Indian cricketer and TV analyst Aditya Tare told Al Jazeera ahead of the final.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were moments when the team was under pressure, but they showed character, picked themselves up from tough situations and finished games off.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest example of the squad\u2019s depth is Sanju Samson. He didn\u2019t get a spot in the playing XI for a few games, but the moment he got in, he picked up two player of the match awards. That goes to show that India isn\u2019t reliant on just one or two players [to win matches].\u201d<\/p>\n Suryakumar\u2019s team will undoubtedly carry the hopes of more than 1.4 billion people at home and millions of Indian diaspora watching elsewhere in the world, with Sunday\u2019s result shaping the mood of the nation the next morning \u2013 whether Indians wake up brimming with joy or grappling with another heartbreak.<\/p>\n For some fans, however, that pressure is not a burden but a sign of how deeply the team is loved.<\/p>\n \u201cI think pressure is a privilege,\u201d Aritra Mustafi, a fan from Bengaluru, said of the expectations the team carries. \u201cIf 90,000 fans turn up again, and it puts the team under pressure, it\u2019s a privilege [for the players] that so many are supporting them.\u201d<\/p>\n The venue has been a major part of the discourse in the run-up to the final. The decision to stage another World Cup final at the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium instead of the traditional homes of Indian cricket \u2013 Mumbai\u2019s Wankhede Stadium or Kolkata\u2019s Eden Gardens \u2013 has prompted debate among fans online.<\/p>\n Those who have attended matches there believe the vast stadium gives more supporters a chance to witness India playing for another world title.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a fan atmosphere perspective, Gujarat might not be the best place, but stadium-wise it\u2019s pretty good because of the crowd management,\u201d said Mustafi, who attended two matches in Ahmedabad during the 50-over World Cup in 2023. \u201cThere are concerns about how such a huge crowd will enter and exit, but during my last visit, I did not face any issues.\u201d<\/p>\n Watching your team lift a trophy on the grandest stage is a dream for many fans, and Hyderabad-based Praketh Reddy is no different.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to experience how it feels to watch India win the World Cup,\u201d he said. \u201cSinging our national song \u2014 Vande Mataram \u2014 with a 100,000-strong crowd will be incredible. If we win, the post-match celebrations will go on late \u2026 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll make it back to my hotel until about 3am!\u201d<\/p>\n For Biswas, the final also carries a personal significance: it falls a day after his birthday, and a victory would be the sweetest present.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the captain of our country lifts the trophy, it will be a dream come true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mumbai, India \u2013 For millions of Indians, the ghosts of a home Cricket World Cup defeat to Australia still haunt their memories two years on from the final in Ahmedabad. It\u2019s a wound that still stings the cricket-mad nation of at least 1.4 billion people, tens of thousands of whom thronged the world\u2019s largest cricket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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