It was the afternoon of the 7th of November.
In central Mumbai stood the magnificent and world-
famous Wankhede Stadium ready to gather cricket fans from all over the country. The pitch prepared
itself for a few centuries coming along its way or maybe even some mind-blowing hat-tricks. Wooden
seats circled around the ground, to welcome the crowd of audiences for a thrilling match of the ODI
World cup 2023. As the ODI World Cup 2023, organized by ICC and BCCI neared to its finals, the
Australia vs Afghanistan match stayed a deciding match for Afghanistan towards qualification.
People raced through the stadium gates that stood about a 100 m apart as the Aussies and Afgans
prepared themselves for a clash against each other.
We grabbed our complementary drink, to quench our thirst in the scorching sun and a huge bucket
of popcorn to much along the twists and turns of the match. The small entrance gradually opened
into a steep flights of seats into the ground merging into the various stand along the stadium, that
finally layered with the light blue sky.
The stand didn’t have as much the rush of an excited crowd of a match with the Indian Cricket Team
playing, but a bunch of cricket lovers coming to experience the world cup thrill.
The coin flew high up in the air and landed into Afghanistan’s favor. As Gurbaz picked up his bat for
the first ball, Mitchell Starc, one of the best fastest of bowlers of Australia, stood for attack. Blocks of
suspense piled up upon each other as Afghanistan kept giving their best for every over bowled. As
the innings came towards an end, Ibrahim Zadran smashed a century and had brought the team a
few steps ahead of the Aussies, with a 291.
The sun faded into the night sky and the moon shone above as the Australian openers entered into
the pitch. It was just a few overs into the innings, when the Afghanistan bowlers, from Rashid Khan
to Naveen, with their brilliant performances, knocked down 7 wickets had clutched the match into
their side.
The atmosphere of the stadium had a completely different look from the cricket matches telecasted
online. Every over, finished with electric songs as everyone hummed together with the vibrating
beats throughout the stands. As the ball flew high up in the air towards the boundary, right into the
seats, the stadium echoed gradually louder and louder.
The floodlights faced to spotlight the pitch as Glenn Maxwell twisted the match with fours and sixes
beyond the boundaries. Maxwell single handedly turned the table for Australia. A few overs down
and he was above a century. Clouds of suspense hovered above Wankhede stadium. Cheers of
“Maxwell! Maxwell!” from every corner of the stadium called out for Maxwell. As the DJ began its
beats, 25,000 thousands mobile phones with their torches swinged sideways along the beats, as the
night sky captured the wonderful moment. The clock almost turned towards midnight as Maxwell
finished the innings with a double century and finally qualifying Australia into the semi-finals.
Interviewers interviewed both the teams, from Glenn Maxwell to the Captain Pat Cummins and even
Ibrahim Zadran to Rashid Khan. Equally appreciating both teams fans headed back to their homes,
each with different memory to cherish.
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