Melbourne, March 26 (IANS) Two of the key attendance milestones reached at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) could be trumped by Sunday's World Cup final.
The 1992 World Cup in the Antipodes drew a crowd of 87,182 for the final between Pakistan and England which the former won. That was well in excess of the crowd that attended the 1987 final at the expansive Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which was estimated at 70,000.
The other most notable record achieved at the MCG came 15 months ago when the first day of the Boxing Day Test attracted 91,112, the biggest recorded crowd for a day of Test cricket, reports The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday.
World Cup organising committee chief executive John Harnden declined to predict a crowd figure for the final but said he has not been sweating on the outcome of Thursday's semifinal because of the significant following for both Australia and India.
Harnden predicted the first qualifier for the final, New Zealand, would attract support beyond their travelling and expat fans because of the distinct passion they have demonstrated throughout the tournament.
"New Zealand is going to have a lot of fans really willing them on for the style of cricket they're playing," he said.
Harnden said the mood of the crowd in all MCG's four group matches -- Australia-England, South Africa-India, Sri Lanka-Bangladesh and India-Bangladesh -- had fortified his hopes that "Sunday is going to be one of the great experiences in sport".
South Africa and India drew 86,876, an astonishing, and deafening, turnout for non-Australian teams during the group stage.
"We've been single-minded about getting that passion and enthusiasm and buy-in from all the different cultural groups and communities that are taking part. It's really pleasing to see that come to fruition," he said.
Maharashtra Talathi Recruitment 2023: The online application process for recruitment to Talathi p
Vaccination is slowly gaining momentum with the second wave of corona in the country getting ligh
The Supreme Court has given a major decision regarding the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah M
The Indian team entered the final of the ODI World Cup after 12 years. The Rohit Sharma-led India
Jailer: Rajinikanth's 'Jailer' could not be released in Hindi till now, know here what is the reason
Rajinikanth's film 'Jailer' has been released in theaters on the previous day. With this film, 'R
After Aryan Khan got bail and NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede was accused of bribery, the pace
Kushinagar Tragedy: The death toll in the accident in Naurangiya Tola village of Kushinagar, Utta
Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that his country wants relations with
Due to the incident which was about to replace China in the whole world, now the dragon has got g
The Indian team has geared up for the fourth Test match against England starting in Manchester fr
