World Cup 2023: Blockbuster India-Pakistan clash at Narendra Modi Stadium to feature musical ceremony

For those wondering what happened to the opening ceremony in the ongoing ICC World Cup, the tournament is set to have something similar in the blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

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India and Pakistan lock horns in what will likely be the biggest match of the tournament so far, with the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium expected to be fully sold out for the latest World Cup meeting between the two arch-rivals.

While the match takes place at 2 pm with toss taking place half-an-hour earlier, the a star-studded ceremony featuring top Bollywood actors along with the country’s leading musicians will kick off at 12.40 pm local time and conclude at 1.10 pm.

Additionally, the ceremony as well as the subsequent Indo-Pak clash will be attended by golden ticket holders Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, as confirmed by Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) secretary Anil Patel.

Both India and Pakistan enter Saturday’s high-profile encounter with back-to-back victories. The Men in Blue defeated five-time world champions Australia by six wickets in a tense chase in Chennai, and would hand Afghanistan an eight-wicket thrashing in Delhi on Wednesday.

Pakistan, on the other hand, began their campaign with an 81-run victory over Netherlands and would later pull off a record chase against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on Tuesday, with Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique slamming match-winning hundreds.

India, meanwhile enjoy a 7-0 lead in their head-to-head record against Pakistan in ICC World Cups, and will aim to extend it to eight-zip on Saturday. The Men in Blue had a similar unbeaten run against their arch-rivals in T20 World Cups as well, which was finally broken by the Babar Azam-led side in Dubai in 2021.

More recently, the two sides had squared off twice in the recently-concluded Asia Cup. The Pakistan bowlers had dominated India in the Group A fixture in Pallekele, restricting them to 266 before rain prevented any further play.

India, however, would bounce back in style later in the tournament, posting a commanding 356/2 before bowling the Men in Green out for a paltry 128 to script a 228-run victory in the Super Four clash in Colombo.