The 12th match of the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup 2023 was played between India and Pakistan today at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad and some online users were very angry with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The BCCI made some special arrangements for this match as a musical ceremony was organised in which some renowned singers such as Arijit Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sukhwinder Singh and Shankar Mahadevan performed. The event started at around 12:30 PM and the television viewers waited for some time, thinking as to why the telecast of the musical ceremony had not started.
However after some time, the official broadcaster Star Sports took to X (formerly Twitter) and made a tweet, informing everyone that the pre-match ceremony was meant for only the in-stadium audiences.
Star Sports wrote, “The pre-match ceremony for the #INDvPAK game today will not be televised as it is only for the stadium audience. We have you covered for the rest- the match, the highlights & everything in between!”
The pre-match ceremony for the #INDvPAK game today will not be televised as it is only for the stadium audience. We have you covered for the rest- the match, the highlights & everything in between!
Tune-in to #INDvPAK in the #WorldCupOnStar
LIVE NOW | Star Sports Network pic.twitter.com/XOVcJoTrma— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 14, 2023
Soon the Indian Fans got into action and here are some selected reactions:
BCCI after hyping this ceremony and decided not to telecast on any platform be like :- #StarSports #INDvsPAK #Ahmedabad #NarendraModiStadium #BCCI #JayShah pic.twitter.com/FrlwgSNxwo
— 𝐏ʀᴀᴛʜᴀᴍ 𝕏 (@Pratham_Tweetz) October 14, 2023
Fans must be fuming. Not cool by Star Sports, to be honest. #INDvPAK
— Samarth Sharma (@samsharma260793) October 14, 2023
#NewsFlash
BCCI decided not to telecast the opening ceremony of the #INDvsPAK cricket match, to preserve the mental health of viewers at home. pic.twitter.com/IB799tsB6T— The Dindu (@TheDindu) October 14, 2023
Opening ceremony will not telecast on tv. Biggest joke 😂😂. #INDvPAK
— kirat_13 (@kirat1313_) October 14, 2023
Nhi dekhni
Match dikhao— Dr. Kalra (@musafir033) October 14, 2023
https://twitter.com/AzeemQuraishi13/status/1713099084540911967
Excellent, saved millions the horrors of watching it.
— nklivester24 | (@startsdigital) October 14, 2023
Matlab kaatne bol do bas. This is next level bc. Tickets lene mat do aur Ghar se dekhne mat do
— Manish Agrawal (@IndiaUnited_OG) October 14, 2023
The pre-match ceremony won't be telecast on Star Sports. It's only for fans in the stadium, @JayShah bhai thoda akele main aana kuch baat karni hai side main. #INDvsPAK pic.twitter.com/Lh9QjeskhK
— Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) October 14, 2023
BCCI to us legit😭😭 pic.twitter.com/FUNMekjxAP
— jyots (@jyotat0) October 14, 2023
Jay Shah when asked to telecast the pre match ceremony#INDvsPAK pic.twitter.com/I7jTLa68ke
— Sunil the Cricketer (@1sInto2s) October 14, 2023
https://twitter.com/Mahrukh__Jiya/status/1713091256191164769
As far as the match is concerned, the toss was won by India and it decided to bowl first. The Pakistani team had a steady start as their openers put up a partnership of 41 runs for the first wicket as the centurion of Pakistan’s last match, Abdullah Shafique got out at the score of 20 runs and the other opener Imam-ul-Haq got dismissed after scoring 36 runs.
The skipper Babar Azam (50 runs) and Player of the Match of Pakistan’s last match, Mohammad Rizwan (49 runs) tried to stabilise the innings but after they both got out, wickets kept falling regularly and the whole team got out at the score of 191 runs in 42.5 overs.
By the time this article was written, India had won the match by 7 wickets as they chased the target successfully in just 30.3 overs. The hero of India’s win is Rohit Sharma who led from the front and scored 86 runs for which he played 63 balls and his innings included 6 fours and the same number of sixes as well. Shreyas Iyer also played a useful knock of 53 runs not out and supported his skipper well after Shubman Gill (16 runs) and Virat Kohli (16 runs) got out early.
This win calls for a celebration and we are sure Indian fans will even forget the pre-match ceremony episode. What do you say?