Ahmedabad: A team of khaki-clad policemen enjoyed a light moment, capturing selfies at the Narendra Modi stadium in its raw form before The Day. If Mitchell Santner had the time, he might have wanted to bring out his smartphone too, to capture the pitch, just like Pat Cummins did a day before November 19, 2023.
Santner is allowed a brief glance of the 22 yards as the hessian cloth is uncovered to take some Saturday afternoon sun.
Minutes before, in his pre-match press conference, Santner broke away from the good-boy Kiwi image. “We wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to win the trophy,” he quipped. Leading up to match-time on Sunday, Santner’s quotable quote would be in the headlines the same way as Cummins’ did – ‘We want to silence the crowd’ declaration.
Stadium jinx
The Indian team has learnt to move on and won titles after the 2023 loss. But fans in Ahmedabad are waiting for a swing in fortunes. It’s not just about the heartbreak against Australia. Last fortnight, India were again squarely beaten by South Africa here. The rational voice in your mind might tell you there is no such thing as a jinx. But when legacies are at stake, a fine line separates belief and disbelief.
The Motera stadium in its previous avatar had an old world charm. Traditional floodlit towers, 45,000 bucket seats of yellow and blue, a modest gym and a vast expanse of dusty parking area dominated by mopeds and scooters. It was typical of what Ahmedabad stood for: a developing metro.
As the city has gravitated towards more cars, a smart city in the neighbourhood, and a bullet train in the works, the new Ahmedabad is about global ambition. The colossal venue illustrates this drive.
Conditioned to hosting big-ticket matches – there have been three IPL finals at the revamped arena besides the ODI World Cup final in five years – pre-match anticipation always revolves around whether the 100,000 spectator threshold would be broken. By local accounts, it’s happened only once before for cricket, during the 2023 IPL final when Chennai Super Kings beat Gujarat Titans. But 90,000 bums-on-seats is a standard here for big games, still a huge number.
A crowd so big could burden the home team. But as India’s campaign has picked up speed, support has swelled. Crowds have truly played the twelfth man. It won’t take much to get the supporters going on Sunday, especially once Ricky Martin and Falguni Pathak have set the mood in the closing ceremony that precedes the match.
After a hat-trick of wins in what were virtual knockout matches against Zimbabwe, West Indies and England, India have begun to justify better their pre-tournament heavy-favourites status.
The biggest problem for the top-ranked T20I side is that despite having the world No.1 T20I batter and bowler in their camp – Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy – both have been struggling.
In Abhishek’s belligerence, they will continue to trust. But isn’t Chakravarthy being lined up against on truer pitches becoming a concern?
“We are not worried about him at all,” India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said about Varun. “He is the World No.1 bowler. He knows what to do when, how to bowl against which opposition. He knows how to step forward and win matches for us. I am sure he will do it.”
On Saturday’s pre-match practice session under lights, Chakravarthy took it easy while Kuldeep Yadav had an extended bowling session.
Powerplay matchups
New Zealand’s batting firepower is top loaded. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert blew away South Africa, who had looked the best team in the tournament, in the semi-final. Would India want to front-load their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to counter their threat? They would only be able to do that once they are certain about trusting their spinners to control the middle overs.
Similar to New Zealand, India’s batting Powerplay would dominate both teams’ pre-match discussions. The Indian top-order hasn’t been the most fluent against spin. Especially Abhishek, specifically against off-spin. Cole McConchie, the 34-year-old Canterbury off-spinner who until a month back hadn’t received the SOS, would be playing the biggest match of his life and in all likelihood be tasked with making the early push.
Surya and legacy
In all of this, Surya has the chance to shape his legacy as captain. He was one among the playing eleven that was left smarting from the 2023 final loss. He helped India snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with his boundary line catch in the final against South Africa at Barbados in 2024.
“It’s my shoes, but his footsteps,” Surya said about following Rohit Sharma’s leadership style. “I have tried to implement similar things, with a few thoughts of mine. It’s been going well. I hope it goes on for many more years. We have been preparing for this stage really well. We started two years back. Hopefully, play good cricket. Be courageous in tough situations.”
