Aadya Sharma, at the venue for the opening act of the 2023 ODI World Cup, talks through the England-New Zealand fixture in Ahmedabad and everything else around it.

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Right so, we’re World Cupping already. Feel it yet?

Into the first innings of the the biggest cricketing event*, my answer would have been a firm no. Yet, by the time Rachin Ravindra pumped his fists for the third time in the evening, the first two for each New Zealand century, it really hit that the Big Show had begun. The defending champions had been overwhelmed to an alarming degree. Solid, well-planned and executed cricket had prevailed.

The opening act in Ahmedabad did its best to shake up some of the pre-tournament doze. Four years after that game at Lord’s, the finalists were paired up again to restart the tradition, probably in the hopes of borrowing some of the nostalgia from those pretty, pre-pandemic days.

Leading up to the first game, the discussion, rather forcefully, veered back to that game. At the captains’ meet – anchored jointly by Eoin Morgan by the way – and at both pre-match press conferences, players were repeatedly asked about 2019. Anticlimactically, Kane Williamson and Ben Stokes sat out. The real anticlimax was in how contrastingly the two matches panned out.

The only justification for those repeated references lies in how the general public perceives an England-New Zealand fixture. The World Cup opener was always going to be played in Ahmedabad, as would the final. The only missing piece in the magic formula was the India team, and Indian players.

The city knows how to put up a spectacle: five months ago, it hosted one of IPL’s most memorable finales, buoyed by record attendance and bravely vanquishing rain. It was preceded by a glittery light and sound show, a statement performance for the world to see.

This time, the plan was probably to ease into things. Barring a sizeable installation at the airport, there are no large hoardings welcoming you to the city, and to the opening game. There’s no excited buzz to see Jos Buttler and Trent Boult. There can’t be. Even for the IPL, you need four overseas players surrounded by seven Indians.

It should all magically align in ten days from now, when the stadium won’t have a seat to spare, and India will take on Pakistan.

When England’s innings was running in the background, much of the early debate was transfixed on the turnout. A bright, long strip of orange-coloured stands in the first tier, empty for long stretches, jarred the eye. It looks pretty when it’s full, just can be as nagging when it isn’t.

For a 2pm start in baking sun, with temperatures close to 35 degrees celsius, and a working Thursday, the attendance wasn’t exactly shocking. By evening, many more seats had been occupied, and the final count was told to be over 47,000. That’s as good as any opening game would get, let alone a non-home team fixture.

For at least three of the remaining four games in Ahmedabad, the crowd is expected to surpass that tally, with the capacity to go more than 2.5 times that count.

Though limited, there certainly was England and New Zealand representation at the venue. Walking into the stadium, one could see little patches of blue (the England blue) and grey jerseys in the crowd. Some were long-time loyalists: the writer met an English fan who was into his fifth decade of World Cup watching, and a New Zealand follower who had been one for about thirty years. Both were equally thrilled about the opener.

The locals seem to have switched allegiances temporarily, their knowledge informed by the deeds of these international superstars in the IPL. My cab driver to the stadium was certain of Buttler and Stokes’ big-hitting powers, and stunned when he got to know Stokes won’t be playing the opener. Some locals had adorned England kits with the promise to switch them before the next game. Some others, wearing black and white, swore they had been New Zealand fans for years.

Among kits, the usual suspects did the rounds – backs with ‘Virat’ and ‘Dhoni’ written on them were easy to spot, with a new addition in ‘Gill’, the popularity skyrocketing since his mega IPL 2023 for Ahmedabad’s home team. There were multiple ‘Williamson’ shirts too (who would mind wearing that?) and a sprinkling of ‘Buttler’ here and there.

Inside, the trophy was carried out by Sachin Tendulkar, the biggest name you can possibly call up to open a cricket tournament in India. A couple of hours later, Tendulkar had a mic in his hand, further capitalising on that brand value, but executed with questionable commentary skills. As the empty orange spaces rankled, the cricket had to uplift the mood. Even copious reruns of ‘Dil Jashn Bole’, a World Cup anthem as divisive as you can imagine, couldn’t convincingly festival-ise the mood.

Cricket did do the job at the end of it, courtesy of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra’s blockbuster act. When the lights came on, the crowd grew and Conway & Ravindra sparkled, you could feel the World Cup vibe slowly kicking in.

One can only imagine the hysteria if this was an India game, preceded by a glittering opening ceremony. Maybe, just maybe, this World Cup isn’t about Bazballing your way to audiences, but a throwback to the format’s early days of starting steady and settling in. In ten days, the next Ahmedabad game could truly set the ball rolling.

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