One World Cup match between India and New Zealand has already been rained out. The weatherman had predicted rain for Sunday too; a massive dampener for millions of cricket fans
Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: To say World Cup cricket fever reached its peak midway Sunday is an understatement. The much-awaited and anticipated bat-and-ball battle between the two arch rivals— India and Pakistan— had lakhs of cricket fans from the sub-continent glued to the TV sets on weekend. The twin cities were no exception.
Before the start of ‘the greatest show on the earth’ at Manchester, England, cricket fans prayed for the victory of Indian team and most importantly for a rain-free match. Cricket buffs in the Twin City had even organised special pujas in temples and offered prayers in a mosque.
In Cuttack Khannagar area, Indian cricket fans had done special puja at Sai temple and, prayed for India’s win against Pakistan and chanted victory slogans. At a mosque in Jobra, the fans prayed for the Indian cricket team and also distributed biryani to celebrate the triumph in advance.
Sanjay Sahoo, a cricket fan, said that in the World Cup India always had an upper hand over Pakistan with 6-0 record against them. “We hope that it becomes 7-0 with this match.” He added that he was hoping for a good performance by Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.
Akshay Nayak said, “It is a perfect day for me as the match is on Sunday which gives me the opportunity to enjoy the World Cup match at home. I have been watching the old matches between the two rivals all morning to prepare myself for the big clash in the afternoon.”
Meanwhile, city cafes and restaurants had geared up themselves for the mega clash with discount offers to attract customers. The bait was the event could be watched on a big screen.
Anupam Patnaik, owner of a Bhubaneswar-based café, said: “The match between India and Pakistan is always highly anticipated and eagerly awaited especially when this happens at the World Cup. We are offering 40 per cent discount on bill amounts, from 1.30 pm to 10.30 pm, and customers can watch all the excitement at the stadium on a big screen here.”
To complement the fever-pitch enthusiasm, many youngsters were seen wearing blue Indian jerseys.
It may be mentioned here that one World Cup match —India vs New Zealand— has already been rained out. The weatherman had predicted rain for Sunday too; a massive dampener for millions of cricket fans.
A strong possibility of rain spelled a possible washout of the much-awaited match at Old Trafford. According to Accuweather, spotty showers were expected over the cricket stadium Sunday.
Meanwhile, on the social media, the ‘Mauka-Mauka’ video has created a great deal of excitement for the World Cup match played at Manchester, England.