Three weeks since the 2023 World Cup started and Mumbai finally gets to host its first game of the tournament. Out of form England takes on an in-form South Africa at the iconic Wankhed Stadium. But both the teams are equally dented as they are coming to the city of dreams after being on the receiving end of a huge upset.
Afghanistan humbled England with an all-round performance in New Delhi whereas South Africa relived their one-year-old nightmare again after facing a shocking defeat against the Netherlands amidst the beautiful Himalayas in Dharamsala.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, who was excited on the eve of the match to make his debut in his idol Sachin Tendulkar’s home ground, unfortunately missed out due to an illness.
Whereas Ben Stokes has returned to play his first World Cup match after the iconic 2019 Final on his home turf.
HEAT ATTACK
Scorching heat can force people into staying indoors even on the busiest of days, but Mumbaikar – absolutely no chance. If there’s a match at their favorite Wankhede Stadium, they are coming, no matter what. Mumbaikars love their cricket and they never shy away from showing it.
A non-India 50-over match in the middle of the day under a hot sun is a perfect recipe for a half-empty stadium but for a city like Mumbai, it’s just another opportunity to throw themselves into the madness of cricket. The turnout for this evening’s game was huge. Just with the sheer number of spectators, one can’t say India is not playing.
The passion for the game amongst the people in this city is unparalleled. And why wouldn’t it be? The God of Cricket is from their city. The iconic World Cup final was won in their city and they have one of the most successful IPL teams.
THE BEN STOKES FACTOR
It’s very common to see a few Indian players drawing crowds to the stadium just by their name. Fans fill the stadium if there’s MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, or Rohit Sharma playing. Sachin Tendulkar did that for two decades. But what you will seldom see is Indian fans coming to the stadium to watch an overseas player. AB De Villiers was one such player who could fill the Indian stadiums with just his name.
Almost every second fan outside the Wankhede stadium confessed that they were here for just one man – Benjamin Andrew Stokes. They wanted to see the all-rounder in the flesh and loved every bit of it. Every time Stokes came to the ropes for fielding, that particular stand erupted. Unfortunately, he didn’t do much with the bat, scoring only 5 runs off 8 balls.
Wankhede Stadium and Mumbai are a big part of Indian cricket history and the fans know how to respect that. Not that the other cities are not as passionate but this city of dreams is just like that extra chilly that comes with its famous dish, vada pao.
The crowd was rewarded for their commitment with explosive innings by South Africa, particularly by Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen as the duo scored 109 and 75 respectively. Every shot was followed by a huge cheer, every milestone was celebrated with a huge round of applause, and every good inning was given a standing ovation.
On the other hand, England had absolutely no answer to the questions posed by the Proteas. England suffered an early collapse by losing the first six wickets for 68. The tailenders showed some fightback to help them score 170-9. Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood played some explosive shots and ended their innings with a score of 35 and *43 respectively.
They say England’s bowlers can bat but in this World Cup, it looks like only the England bowlers can bat.
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