Ahmedabad, India:Babar Azam’s Pakistan look for their first ever World Cup win over India on Saturday in front of a record crowd expected to number around 120,000 fans who will overwhelmingly be backing Rohit Sharma’s home side.
Both teams remain unbeaten coming into the match at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, named for the Indian prime minister.
Local officials told Reporter the 132,000-capacity stadium would host around 115,000 to 120,000 fans with some seats lost due to a stage set up for a pre-game concert featuring a cast of Bollywood singers.
The number could be a record for any cricket match around the globe and will surpass the previous best of 104,859 which turned out to watch last year’s Indian Premier League final at the same venue.
Pakistan nationals were unable to secure India visas so only a handful of Pakistani fans, who have British and US passports, have turned up to watch the game.
Thousands of fans in blue Indian jerseys queued up to enter the stadium, which was already more than half full 90 minutes before the first ball was to be bowled at 0830GMT.
“I never miss any India-Pakistan game and flew in especially for this,” Sunil Yadav, an Indian fan from London, told Reporter .
“I wanted to experience this game at the world’s biggest stadium and it is awesome.”
This is Pakistan’s first match after their record World Cup chase of 345 against Sri Lanka, with Mohammad Rizwan scoring an unbeaten 131 and Abdullah Shafique making 113.
“I don’t focus on the past; I try to focus on the future,” Pakistan skipper Babar Azam told reporters when asked about India’s 7-0 winning record over their rivals in World Cup games.
“Such records are made to be broken.”
A Pakistan team hasn’t played in India since 2016 and only two of their 15-man squad had ever been in the country before the World Cup.
Security concerns saw Saturday’s match brought forward a day from its original date, which coincided with a major Hindu festival in the city.