Fever Pitch: Ahmedabad Prepares for a Historic World Cup Final

48 hours before the World Cup final, a few Australian fans who had flown into the city to attend the match were joking about with their Indian counterparts outside the main entrance of the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.

Even though it was getting near to dusk on the stadium grounds and the online ticket box office was closed, people were still making ardent demands of everyone they saw.

Up until Sunday, Ahmedabad will continue to be the hub for most cricket enthusiasts. Hotels and flights are fully booked, and since India clinched their spot in the championship round on Wednesday, hotel rates have skyrocketed.

Nearly 100 private planes will transport the wealthy and influential into and out of the city throughout the course of the next two days. For Sunday's high-profile match, even taxis have been reserved in advance.

On a hot day, six cricket players from India participated in an optional nets practice inside the stadium. Both KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, as well as Rohit Sharma, were determined to take advantage of any chance to improve his batting.

Although the appearance of Ravichandran Ashwin was expected, the condition of the wicket has undoubtedly sparked some fresh curiosity in the off-spinner. In this tournament, the tweakers have also found it simple to target the Australians.

Even in the semi-final matchup with South Africa, players like David Warner and Travis Head battled Aiden Markram, a part-time off-spinner, in addition to Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj's left-arm spin. The three guys not only stopped the runs from coming in, but they also made the hitters make errors.

According to preliminary observations, the pitch may be low and sluggish, similar to the one that was used during the India-Pakistan match last month. Even the grounds crew acknowledged that there wasn't much grass left to mow.

However, Andy Atkinson, the ICC pitch expert who spearheaded the controversy surrounding the pitch selection before to the Wankhede semi-final with his alleged email to the governing body, was nowhere to be seen. There are rumors that he returned after finishing his mission.

Here, Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja had not only stopped the run flow in the middle overs but also made significant breakthroughs against Pakistan by taking four wickets.

But considering that they have been instrumental in their incredible tournament run, would India upset their winning formula, particularly their "Fab Five" bowlers?

While Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are certain, Mohammed Siraj did show to be costly at the Wankhede when they played New Zealand. However, it would be unjust to bench him after his one-match performance.

The only other alternative, should India want to field three spinners, would be to play Ashwin as an all-rounder and leave Suryakumar Yadav out. Will the team management, however, use the chance to make such a broad choice in the end?

The sole match Ashwin has played in this event is India's first match in Chennai versus Pat Cummins' team.

There was a festive and carefree atmosphere at the Motera stadium 48 hours before to the World Cup final.

The 45-day festival culminated with an innings-break performance, which more than 200 kids practiced musical exercises for. In a practice run before the big day, Indian Air Force aircraft passed over the stadium.

In order to facilitate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is anticipated to be there, touring the stadium on Sunday, a few golf carts have also been kept available.

Both of India's World Cup-winning captains, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kapil Dev, are probably going to attend the championship game. Will the 10-year ICC trophy drought come to an end with Rohit becoming their third Indian?

Ahmedabad is not in the right frame of mind to consider anything unforeseen.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.