It was billed as “a much-awaited clash” by the ICC when the opening match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup was revealed in June but as the Black Caps and England walked out at what looked to be a near-empty Narendra Modi Stadium last night, itappeared the locals in Ahmedabad didn’t get the message.
With a huge capacity of 132,000, the largest cricket stadium in the world, beginning the tournament without hosts India seemed a gamble that didn’t pay off with a sparse turnout, especially in the opening overs.
Tickets didn’t go on sale until August 25 and attendance according to local reports was believed to be around 45,000 for New Zealand’s nine wicket win. That figure would still be more than the capacity crowd of 25,500 at the Oval in London who attended the opening game between England and South Africa four years ago.
But even if the 45,000 figure is to be believed, it would still mean there were 87,000 empty seats at Narendra Modi Stadium overnight.
More than 100,000 Indians turned up in 2020 to see US president Donald Trump, surely as many would be keen to get a glimpse of Devon Conway and Joe Root.
The heat drove most fans into the shade in the early going which left the impression that few fans were in attendance. The number of fans steadily grew as the game went on and the sun went down but the Black Caps made quick work of their chase, winning the match with 82 balls to spare.
Why is the CWC opening match crowd so sparse? I thought this was one of India’s many religions?
The tournament’s schedule wasn’t confirmed by the ICC until 100 days out from today’s opening game which didn’t help travelling fans.
The Black Caps next play on Monday night against Netherlands in Hyderabad. According to the ICC ticketing website the Black Caps clash against South Africa on 1 November is sold out while tickets to the India game are yet to go on sale.
