A sea of blue was witnessed at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday as India took on Pakistan in Match 12 of the ICC World Cup 2023.
The biggest cricket stadium in the world was packed to capacity with Indian cricket supporters wearing the team's jersey as they dominated Pakistan with the ball after winning the toss and opting to bowl first.
By 11 am on Saturday, all roads led to the stadium in Motera for the tournament's most-awaited clash. The entire city seemed to be covered in blue as traffic slowed down considerably even if it didn't come to a standstill.
One has spoken about the dichotomy of Ahmedabad, where there was hardly any pre-match buzz but all tickets were reportedly sold months in advance.
On Saturday, the reason was clear – more than the locals, the bulk of the people (over one lakh) present at the stadium were from outside the city, many of whom are NRIs.
Once they made it to the ground, the fans were seen chanting the players' names and sang 'Vande Mataram, Chak De India' among others.
A section of the fans were even heard chanting Jai Shri Ram at the Modi Stadium, the video of which went viral on social media.
India dictate terms in Ahmedabad
India bowled out Pakistan for just 191 in 42.5 overs with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj leading the way with the white ball.
Siraj and Bumrah hoodwinked the Pakistan batters with semi-old ball and a bagful of tricks while Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja spun a web around the opposition as India dominated proceedings.
Bumrah, Siraj, Kuldeep, Jadeja and Hardik Pandya got two wickets as Pakistan got bowled out for their second lowest World Cup score against India.
