World Record Test Cricket Crowd Tipped In India As Politics Plays Out In The Backdrop

The refurbished Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad holds a staggering 132,000 seats. It is comfortably the biggest cricket stadium in the world, dwarfing the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground which holds numerous cricket crowd records.

More than 93,000 went to the ‘G – known colloquially by sports-mad Victorians – for the 2015 World Cup final while 91,112 at the same venue for day one of the 2013 Ashes is the largest single day attendance for Test cricket.

Those records are set to tumble in the series-finale fourth Test between India and Australia starting on Thursday. Around 100,000 fans are tipped for the opening day also fuelled by the anticipated appearances of the prime ministers of both countries.

Fittingly, considering the name of the stadium is named after him, prime minister Narendra Modi will host counterpart Anthony Albanese who is visiting India for the first time since he claimed the leadership reins almost a year ago.

The public show of the leaders at the venue underlines cricket’s heft in a country where the sport is something close to a religion.

Images of Modi and Albanese – with the tagline ’75 years of friendship through cricket’ – will adorn the sightscreen in a clever marketing ploy. Though it might be too much to stomach for those with a distaste for either of them.

“When Prime Ministers Albanese and Modi walk onto the ground tomorrow, there is every chance that they will do so in front of a world record crowd for a test match,” Australia deputy prime minister Richard Marles said.

“Cricket is perhaps the best symbol of what we have in common as two countries … foreign relations is not very different to human relations. As two countries, we are the very best of friends.”

Back on the field, a rejuvenated Australia will be aiming to continue their momentum after an unexpected third Test victory has them on the brink of levelling the four-match series.

A drawn result would feel like a triumph for Australia given India’s almost invincibility at home, where they have not lost a series in a decade.

There is much intrigue over the pitch after three consecutive raging turning wickets, which were supposed to considerably aid India but have ironically helped Australia’s trio of spinners change the course of the series.

Australia are feeling buoyant, but will be wary of the hosts whose reckless batting approach in the third Test smacked of overconfidence. There is the expectation that India will bounce back and claim a still resounding 3-1 triumph, but their patchy batting order is of concern.

Star batter Virat Kohli has tailed off in Test cricket for some time and will be looking for a belated big score against his nemesis Australia, whose unheralded spinners Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy have caused him problems.

A drawn series would be a disappointment for India, who had been well on course for a whitewash after the opening two Tests. Even in those wins, India had played fairly patchy at times but the brilliance of spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja was simply enough.

They will surely need a more complete performance to fend off Australia, who are finally finding their groove in these uncompromising conditions after limited preparation heading into the series.

It looms as an absorbing series finale played in a cauldron, where the bedlam in the terraces might be like nothing we’ve seen before in Test cricket.

Amid this extravaganza, politicking will be ensuing between the leaders of both countries.