AHMEDABAD: On Sunday morning, Ahmedabad didn't have the feel or the vibe of a major World Cup final being hours away. It was like any other lazy weekend morning. The roads were empty and traffic was non-existent.
All of that changed in the afternoon as scores and scores of Indian fans made their way to the new Motera. The gates were thrown open at 3.30 PM but they were already outside the new Motera, one of the country's biggest mass sporting cathedrals, before it was even open.
Among them were locals, people from different states as well as Indians using cricket as an excuse to plan a trip back home. Indian Railways, on Saturday night, decided to help a few travellers as they flagged off a special train from New Delhi. That was also full.
This was going to be a festival and they wanted to play their part. As soon as the gates were open, all the familiar chants cut through the extremely hot air. "Jeetega bhai, jeetega, India jeetega," was the most popular. Some of them were still sporting Rohit Sharma jerseys. Others had Virat 18 on their back. A few had Surya while others were sporting Samson. Divided by name, united by country and colour of the jersey.
The stadium wasn't full at the toss but the ones inside had already worked up an electric atmosphere as they cheered on Ricky Martin's popular songs. As per the ICC's flow of events at the Closing Ceremony, they were in danger of having to delay the toss but they decided to cull a few events from the programme to ensure there would be no major delays.
The toss itself was no surprise as the ones who won it — New Zealand — opted to field first. After a baking hot day — the afternoon was a furnace as temperatures hovered around the 38*c — there's expected to be some dew. The Kiwis made one change, taking the decision to bring Jacob Duffy over Cole McConchie, but the hosts stuck to their XI from the semifinals.