England and New Zealand opened the Cricket World Cup on Thursday faced with a largely empty stadium -- and those in the crowd donned tops and face-paint in the national colours of India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A ripple of excitement went through the crowd as the England players made their way into the world's biggest cricket arena, a 132,000-seater stadium named after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's just huge to watch the World Cup... you can understand the excitement," said Zubair Ahmed, a fan with his cheek painted in the Indian flag colours of orange, white and green, as the game got underway in Ahmedabad in western India at the start of a marathon tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The opener is a rematch of the epic final in the 2019 edition when hosts England won the tied game on boundary countback at Lord's in London.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But numbers of fans were low at the start, with just a few hundred trickling into the mega-stadium and the vast majority of seats empty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Temperatures sizzled around 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Farenheit) with blazing sunshine, but those fans in the seats were undeterred, donning colourful costumes in the stands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Amid the India flags, some fans were out to support the playing teams.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England skipper Jos Buttler has a strong fan base in cricket-mad India, as he plays for the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Jos is the boss," said Santosh Dodiya, wearing an England jersey with the captain's name across the back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's my first time here and I am excited to watch my favourite player at this huge stadium."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Dodiya had travelled for over 500 kilometres (340 miles) from the neighbouring Rajasthan state.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I have especially come to watch him bat," he said. "Of course I want India to win, but England should reach the final."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- Free tickets -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jyoti Malhotra, wearing a sari in Indian tricolour flag colours, said she was just "so excited" to be at the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But the big game she is looking forward is the tournament's blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I'm still looking for an India-Pakistan ticket," she said. "I'll be here for the final, hopefully India-Pakistan."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The match on October 14 in Ahmedabad is the most anticipated clash of the 50-over showpiece event.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With seats already all sold out, the fans have been turning to the black market and touts, with tickets for a normal stand costing 2000 rupees ($24) shooting up more than 25 times in cost to as much as 50,000 rupees ($600).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Fan Zubair Ahmed said if he could, he would go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's the most loved match in the world," he said. "The kind of emotions that flow when India win are so great, I can't explain it in words."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Despite the buzz, organisers fear stadiums will continue to look empty if fewer than 50,000 fans turned up for Thursday's game -- a likely scenario in matches not involving India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The women's wing of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party sent out messages offering as many as 40,000 free tickets for Thursday's opening match to women, a senior party leader said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
When Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese met in March, watching a Test match between India and Australia in Ahmedabad, school children were brought in to fill the stands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n