VISAKHAPATNAM: Diwali strated a day ahead in Vizag as the Team India clinched the ODI series by defeating New Zealand by a whopping 190 runs in the final match held at the YSR ACA-VDCA stadium in the city on Saturday.
The fans had witnessed yet another classy innings from the run machine Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s crucial knock and finally brilliant performances from spinner Amit Mishra who took five wickets for 18 runs.
As the Team India won th eseries, the city skylines was illuminated with array of firecrackers.
The jubilant fans left no stone unturned to celebrate the Tem India’s win on rthe eve of Diwali.
Earlier in the day, all roads led to the YSR ACA-VDCA stadium. In fancy attire and tattoos on their faces, cricket fans thronged the stadium to cheer the host team since morning though they were allowed into the stadium from the afternoon. Being a weekend, women, men, children and even senior citizens in large numbers flocked to watch the match. The crowd support was not only to India but also to the Kiwis who displayed some extraordinary fielding skills in the first innings.
Stands were jam packed with crowds cheering for India as placards and Indian flags kept waving all through the match. As soon as it was announced that India would bat first, crowd went ecstatic and expected a total of 300. The stadium bursted into cheers when opener Ajinkya Rahane started his innings with a four right in the first over. It was during the reception of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, crowd stood up and the stadium reverberated with their names.
Indeed, the real Diwali was celebrated when the New Zealand top order caved in to the Indian spinners.
Vizagites lighted the flashlights from their smart phones, waved them and cheered India when the visitors’ score was 73/5.
The stadium erupted in joy when the ‘Men in Blue’ took the final wicket of New Zealand and also during the presentation ceremony, when the Team India lifted the trophy. “We witnessed extraordinary performance today. Magical spell by Amit Mishra and Axar Patel was amazing. Last eight wickets fell in 18 runs, which we hardly expected. I am glad to be a witness to htis victory,” said V Prasanth Kiran, a private employee from Srikakulam, who came all the way to Vizag for the match.