Mumbai, India – Matches on the Cricket World Cup have seen a combined response from followers as stadiums have stuffed up for host nation India’s matches however the turnout for video games involving different groups at some venues has been underwhelming.

The International Cricket Council stated 542,000 fans had attended matches by the mid-way level, 190,000 greater than on the equal stage in 2019.

The 2023 ODI World Cup, cricket’s pinnacle occasion, has now accomplished two-thirds of its 48 matches, and fixtures have been held across all 10 venues to date.

As anticipated, all of India’s seven matches have attracted near-capacity crowds at seven venues as a sea of blue took over every time Rohit Sharma’s aspect turned up of their quest to win the nation’s second world title.

The scenario, although, has been completely different for non-India matches.

Some non-India video games noticed good crowds in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi. Those cities, historically identified for his or her cricketing tradition, had been profitable in filling up practically 80 p.c of the seats at their stadiums. But different locations equivalent to Dharamsala and Ahmedabad had been unable to take action.

A chaotic ticketing process has been a serious drawback on the World Cup. Delayed announcement of the fixtures in addition to exorbitant ticket costs and restricted availability has made the fan expertise disagreeable for a lot of.

To add to it, the recent climate in most cities and the shortage of journey choices in some venues, equivalent to Pune and Lucknow, make the match-going expertise difficult for followers.

Lalith Kalidas, who has been reporting on the World Cup for Sportstar, an Indian sports activities journal and web site, stated the general turnout has been underwhelming.

“I think the attendance is not as great as I expected it to be. A lot of it has to do with the ticketing issues,” Kalidas informed Al Jazeera. “Even for neutral matches, I expected a better crowd.”

The event opener between final version’s finalists New Zealand and defending champions England attracted about 47,000 followers on the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world’s largest cricket floor with a capability of 132,000.

Fans and gamers raised questions over the subpar turnout, criticising organisers for the rows of empty seats.

“For the opening game, about 47,000 fans turned up, which is better than most grounds across the world, but for that sort of experience, it was a pretty low turnout,” Kalidas stated.

Kalidas, who was current on the India vs Bangladesh match in Pune, stated followers complained of struggling to achieve the stadium. The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is positioned far-off from the principle metropolis on the Mumbai-Pune freeway with no public transport connections.

“The stadium wasn’t completely filled for India vs Bangladesh, but it had a decent turnout,” he stated. “I used to be staying within the metropolis as a result of there weren’t good motels close to the stadium, and it took as much as one and a half hours to achieve the stadium. While returning, it took virtually two hours to achieve the Pune airport.

“Some fans who were travelling from Mumbai found it easier to reach the stadium as it is on the Pune-Mumbai highway, but the other travelling fans and even Bangladeshi fans had a lot of trouble accessing the stadium,” Kalidas stated.

Despite the difficult commute, followers flocked in important numbers of slightly below 32,000 for New Zealand vs South Africa – two groups who’re in rivalry for the semifinals –  in Pune.

While Pune attracted criticism for its poor accessibility, stadiums in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru provided a extra easy expertise.

Kalidas, who lined Pakistan vs South Africa, stated about 29,000 followers turned up for the sport in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, which has a capability of 38,000.

“Chennai has a fairly knowledgable crowd. During the end of Pakistan vs South Africa, the crowd wanted Pakistan to do well and were cheering on every delivery Shaheen Afridi bowled,” he recalled.

“The bigger centres will attract more attendance for neutral games because of the accessibility and the experience of watching a live game from such huge venues,” he stated.

Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, which has a capability of 33,000, had about 24,000 followers for England vs South Africa, based on ESPNCricinfo, whereas Pakistan vs Australia on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and Pakistan vs Afghanistan in Chennai additionally witnessed an awesome reception.

Tareque Laskar, a researcher and trainer, attended all three of those matches, which had been held October 20 to 23.

“Stadiums in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru are very accessible in terms of transport. The stadium in Bengaluru is in the middle of the city, so there are no worries about commuting,” stated Laskar, who lives in Bengaluru.

“As a first-time visitor, I found the stadium in Chennai very accessible too. The stadiums in Lucknow and Pune are fairly outside of the city, so you have to plan well in advance to get there or probably have a vehicle of your own. That might be an obstacle for fans.”

Laskar, who was additionally current on the 2011 World Cup in India, added that attending a recreation in Dharamsala, a hillside metropolis surrounded by cedar forests on the sting of the Himalayas, is a “logistical challenge unless you are a local”.

“It’s difficult to go there just for one game casually,” he stated.

‘Missing a trick’

Some critics have in contrast the turnout at this yr’s version with the 2019 World Cup, held in England and Wales. But Laskar believes the comparability is unfair as a result of the stadiums in India are greater and thus tough to fill.

For instance, the largest venue in 2019, the Lord’s Stadium, had a capability of 30,000. All venues in India, barring Dharamsala, have an even bigger capability than Lord’s.

Despite a number of points, Laskar believes the general turnout to date has been “great” however the closing figures needs to be in contrast with the 2011 version, additionally held in India, to attract a good image.

“It has been a good turnout despite rather than because of the logistics and the rest of the process,” he defined. “I was initially concerned that the turnout for the neutral games would be really bad, but that wasn’t the case. Part of the credit goes to some centres like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.”

Gomesh S, a reporter for The New Indian Express newspaper who attended India’s first 5 matches, stated the combined response from followers can also be partly due to the way in which the event has unfolded.

Table toppers India have already booked their spot within the semifinals with a most 14 factors from seven video games. South Africa are second with 12 factors after seven video games whereas Australia are third with eight factors from six video games and New Zealand are fourth with eight factors after seven video games.

“The top three teams are pretty clear, and the results haven’t been as interesting as organisers would have expected,” Gomesh stated.

“The defending champions are almost down and out. The other team who were expected to create a buzz were Pakistan. They are also not in a very good position.”

Laskar, a well-travelled cricket fan, stated some matches may have been held at different venues, equivalent to Rajkot and Guwahati, whereas Kalidas stated that Indore or Mohali may have been different to Dharamsala, which has been criticised for the situation of its outfield.

“When the fixtures were announced, I thought the tournament would have 13 or 14 venues with a couple of venues just having one game to give them a taste of the tournament. That’s a trick missed,” Laskar stated.

The absence of crowds at some matches can also mirror the dwindling curiosity in ODI cricket and has rekindled the controversy over the format’s relevance.

For most informal viewers, the three-hour spectacle of Twenty20 cricket is the primary alternative whereas Test matches stay the precedence for conventional followers. ODI cricket seems to be struggling on this struggle.

Gomesh stated the way forward for bilateral ODI cricket may very well be unsure however the ODI World Cup is probably going right here to remain.

“It is becoming a bit hard to grab hold of people’s attention for seven to eight hours for an ODI match,” Gomesh stated. “The variety of bilateral ODIs may come down drastically within the coming years as a result of there’s little or no context to it … however the World Cup? I’m not too positive.

“It’s still arguably the biggest cricket tournament that exists. I wouldn’t rule out the ODI World Cup shutting down just yet.”