Approximately 40,000 women were granted complimentary tickets and meal vouchers for the World Cup 2023 opener held at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday, October 5. However, recent reports suggest that these women were unaware that the match featured England and New Zealand.
Asian News TV uploaded a video to YouTube featuring interviews with a few attendees before the tournament’s opening match. In the video, one female attendee disclosed that they were informed that the tickets they had received were for the India-Pakistan World Cup 2023 encounter. It is worth noting that the distribution of these 40,000 complimentary tickets was orchestrated by leaders from the Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Despite this generous gesture, the turnout was not as expected, with several vacant seats visible during the start of the tournament’s inaugural match.
Watch the Video Here:
Numerous fans expressed their disappointment on social media platforms due to the relatively small crowd that gathered for the ICC event’s opening fixture. In a contest that pitted the finalists of the previous edition, England and New Zealand, the latter won the toss and opted to field against the defending champions.
Joe Root was the standout performer with the bat for England, accumulating an impressive 77 runs. Captain Jos Buttler also contributed with 43 runs. England concluded their innings at 282/9 after 50 overs. On the bowling front, Matt Henry claimed three wickets, while Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips secured two each. New Zealand’s batters convincingly chased down the target, achieving it in just 36.2 overs with nine wickets to spare.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra delivered exceptional centuries, remaining unbeaten at 152 and 123 runs, respectively. Their remarkable partnership of 273* runs for the second wicket not only secured a comprehensive victory but also set a new record as the largest partnership for New Zealand in World Cup history.
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