Neither West Indies, who were shot out for 93, nor the giant-killers of yore Kenya, qualified for this World Cup. No such crazy caper is likely to unfold on Thursday when a stuttering Bangladesh meet a rampaging India.
Pune's otherwise breezy MCA stadium, the city's newer cricket venue, instead will stir up one bubbling cauldron with India fans clamouring for another pounding of opponents like in Ahmedabad. Bangladesh has beaten India thrice in the last four meetings but their triumphs have been at home or on neutral venues.
The majority of the crowd, which is under-25 that is used to driving down to the Gahunje stadium for IPLgames, weren't born when Kenya upset West Indies and will need the blue shirts, flags, face-paint and the ceaseless India-cheering frenzy to sit through the 8 hours of a format.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association hasn't needed to advertise the game with hoardings inside the city. Its officials, constantly harangued for tickets, carried creased foreheads with mobiles stuck to the ear as demand cranked up even more in the days leading up to the match.
"The MCA stadium has hosted 68 matches including IPL already, but the World Cup tends to be a pressure game for organisers. More than pressure, we are excited, given hopes from the Indian team have increased," says Maharashtra Cricket Association secretary Shubhendra Bhandarkar. Hosting organisers saw a renewed surge of requests for tickets after India beat Pakistan. With nearly no public transport in existence ferrying the flock towards the stadium, the MCA has taken hold of 42 acres of land surrounding the stadium for parking cars. Huge blimps will fly out into the sky, numbered to help locate parking zones. Stadium boxes have a fresh coat of paint and lights are all LED now. Blue park benches outside are dusted off, seats are flapped open and aisles are hosed down.
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