The day is here: India open their cricket world cup campaign against Australia today in Chennai
MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai as the storied ground got ready to put on a show.
When India take on Australia in their opening match of the tournament today, the organisers will be hoping this is indeed the day in which the World Cup comes alive.
The World Cup has come to India after 12 years and around the traps, people have commented that the buzz is simply not the same as 2011.
Then, by the time the first ball was bowled, the hype was at full volume. There’s a much quieter atmosphere around this tournament, although that is set to change.
Beginning the World Cup with a non-India match midweek was probably not the smartest way to start the tournament.
In the four matches that were played before India’s first game, attendances were disappointing. This is a bit befuddling because most people who want tickets aren’t able to get them, the official booking website shows several stands as sold out and yet there are hardly any spectators at the matches.
The real test of how big the World Cup is will come on Sunday.
For this generation of Indian cricketers, the 50-over World Cup is still the big prize, but they may be the last batch of players to think so. The advent and advance of T20 cricket and its franchise leagues means that One-Day Internationals as a format is teetering on the brink of extinction. But, for Rohit Sharma, there was no ambiguity.
“You heard the great man say that so many times that you know until he wins the World Cup, he’s got a bit of unfinished business. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about.” He was likely talking about Sachin Tendulkar, but could just as well have been referring to Lionel Messi, another player to claim the big prize towards the back end of his career.
For Rohit, who was
