With the heartbreak of the 2023 World Cup final still fresh in the memories, Indian cricket fans would pray that Team India beat New Zealand and emerge victorious in the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday. Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is the venue for the summit clash, and it is the same venue where India lost to Australia in the finals of the 50-over World Cup.
To avoid a repeat of the 2023 finals, the BCCI is leaving no stone unturned and want to give the Suryakumar Yadav-team the best chance to win the trophy for a record third time. Prior to their semifinal clash against England in Mumbai, India delayed their training session by 45 minutes to avoid any “ill-effects” of the lunar eclipse.
Moreover, there is no official word to it, but it has been learnt that BCCI has changed India’s team hotel ahead of the final in Ahmedabad, maybe to break the jinx of the earlier hotel where the team stayed during the 2023 ODI World Cup final and this year’s Super Eight match against South Africa.
You can’t really blame them for trying every trick in the book to make Lady Luck finally notice them.
As reported by the PTI, there are chances of the final being played on red soil track, similar to the one used at Wankhede in Mumbai, where India scored more than 250. In their Super Eight match against South Africa, India struggled on the black-soil pitch with the ball holding up.
The world’s largest stadium has all the three types of tracks – red, black and mixture of red and black soil pitches. The report says the pitch was yet to finalised for the final, which was evident with the official broadcasters having not fixed stump cam on any of the pitches. Moreover, local curators and even BCCI CEO Hemang Amin were spotted keenly looking at a particular strip.
Puerto Rican Grammy award winning singer Ricky Martin will entertain the packed Narendra Modi Stadium along with Phalguni Pathak and Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 final between India and New Zealand on Sunday.
Looking at the rush expected among the fans to watch the finals, Western Railway will run a special train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on the match day. With the airfare already soaring for Ahmedabad, a train ride would be a convenient and affordable option for the fans.
Air India Express and Akasa Air have also announced special flights to Ahmedabad to meet the huge rush of cricket fans intending to catch the live action of the T20 World Cup 2026 final.
“To facilitate cricket fans travelling to witness the final, the airline will operate additional flights to Ahmedabad from Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. These flights have been scheduled in response to the sharp increase in demand for travel to the city as fans across the country plan to attend the highly anticipated match,” Air India Express said in a release.
The airline added that it will keep an eye on booking trends and may add more flights if necessary.
Akasa Air will provide direct flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on March 8 and 9, expanding its current services between the two cities.
“SkyLights will illuminate the cabin with the colours of the Indian tricolour, leveraging the dynamic lighting features of the Boeing Sky Interior to create an immersive and festive onboard ambience for guests travelling to witness the grand finale,” Akasa Air said in their statement.
