Cricket fans, Arun Haryani (Right) and Anil Advani (Left) paint their bodies in the Indian and Pakistani national flag colours.
Credit: Reuters Photo
By Satviki Sanjay and Akriti Sharma
Millions of sports fans are anticipated to pack restaurants, bars, street markets and malls in India and Pakistan — and elsewhere in the world — as the two South Asian arch-rivals play each other at the men’s Cricket World Cup on Saturday.
The two teams will meet in front of a crowd of 130,000 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world’s largest cricket ground. The one day international match could last as long as nine hours and is taking on extra significance as it will be the first time in seven years that Pakistan has played in India following years of deteriorating relations between the two cricket-mad countries.
The long match time means that venues are coming up with all kinds of activities to keep fans engaged for the duration of the game. In Delhi, the DLF Promenade luxury mall is charging 1,200 rupees ($14) for its viewing party, which it is billing as “Delhi’s biggest,” and is offering “experiential bars” on top of live music and food. In Lucknow, sports management company Gold Standard Sports is showing the match at an indoor stadium for 2,500 fans.
“Watching the match with friends with beer is what the day is about,” said Aditya Vikram, 24, who is attending the Lucknow party. “It’s a vibe.”
Indian’s railways will also run two special trains on the day from Mumbai to Ahmedabad to clear an “extra rush of cricket fans,” according to a statement on its website.