CWC: “All preparations done for Cricket fans,” says TN Sports Minister Udhayanidhi

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu Minister for Sports Development and Youth Welfare, announced that all the preparations have been made for the fans to watch the opening of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will be held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

“BCCI is doing this match, even the Tamil Nadu Government has made preparations for the Cricket fans to come and watch the match freely and to go home safely. All the needed arrangements have been made at the stadium (Outside/Inside) by the Tamilnadu Government,” he added.

Fans from all over the country and from outside India are coming to enjoy the high-octane match between the top-ranked teams.

“The World Cup has started and teams have started their campaign on a high note. Today is India’s chance to play against Australia. India has played against three previous matches with Australia and they know them very well. It will be a good contest,” a cricket fan said before the match.

The World Cup royalty Australia will have an obvious advantage in the head-to-head, having won 83 games to 56 losses. However, the home favourites India will be high on confidence as they recently defeated Australia in a three-match ODI series 2-1 at home.

The players on the opposing teams and the environment are both familiar to the two sides. The two teams squared off in Chennai in March of this year, and Australia prevailed in a close game.

Australia is waiting for all-rounder Marcus Stoinis while India is watching Shubman Gill’s health.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc.