I am Narendra Modi Stadium, I have seen Team India go from ‘drowning in floods of tears’ to ‘diving in the ocean of happiness’

I am from Ahmedabad Narendra Modi Stadium…The world’s largest cricket stadium. The sound of millions of spectators, the wave of the tricolor and witnessing the biggest moments of cricket… the passion of victory and the pain of defeat, both are deeply embedded in the soil of my place. In the last few years, I have witnessed the most emotional ups and downs of Indian cricket – from the silence of 19 November 2023 to the resounding victory of 8 March 2026.

19 November 2023 I can never forget that day. The final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 was played on my ground. The whole country was hopeful that India would lift the trophy. Rohit Sharma’s team was unbeaten in the entire tournament, but Australia snatched the victory in the final. That night thousands of people sitting in my stands returned silently. For the first time I felt so much silence.. But the story of cricket did not end here.

India created history

As luck would have it, the final of the 2026 T20 World Cup was once again held in my lap. The face was against New Zealand. This time the Indian team did not make any mistake. With a huge victory of 96 runs, India created history by winning the T20 World Cup for the second consecutive time (back-to-back).

Tears of ‘sorrow’ became tears of pride

The tears which were of ‘sorrow’ in 2023, were now of ‘pride’. I saw how the Indian players took the tricolor and circled my entire field. Today I can proudly say that I am not just a ground, but a witness to the rebirth of Indian cricket. I have also endured that silence of 2023, so that I can feel this noise of 2026 better.

Bumrah became ‘Player of the Match’

Jasprit Bumrah was the biggest hero of India’s victory in this historic final (8 March 2026) played on my chest. On this evening in Ahmedabad, he completely defeated the New Zealand batsmen with his magical bowling. He took 4 wickets for 15 runs in 4 overs, for which he was chosen ‘Player of the Match’. Bumrah broke the back of the Kiwi team with lethal yorkers and slower balls.

Bumrah put the match in India’s hands by dismissing set batsmen like Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner. With this spell, Bumrah also became the most successful fast bowler (40 wickets) in T20 World Cup history.

Sanju Samson became player of the tournament

Sanju Samson, who batted brilliantly (321 runs) throughout the World Cup, was chosen the best player of the tournament. Batting first, India made a huge score of 255/5, in which half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma (52), Sanju Samson (89) and Ishan Kishan (50) had important contributions. At the same time, due to the excellent performance of the Indian bowlers, the New Zealand team was reduced to just 159 runs in 19 overs. With this 96-run victory, I saw the account of that defeat of 2023 being settled.

Why did people start considering me as ‘Panauti’?

In the T-20 World Cup, when South Africa defeated India by 76 runs on 22 February, people started calling me ‘Panauti’, whereas before that on 18 February, Team India had defeated Netherlands by 17 runs. Now that India has won the T-20 World Cup trophy, hopefully people will no longer call me Panauti.

How was India’s record in Ahmedabad?

In the end I just want to tell you that I have seen the pain of defeat as well as the joy of victory… This is what cricket is all about – sometimes tears in the eyes, sometimes the trophy in the hands. Now whenever people come to my stands, they will not remember just one match. They will remember how India fell, recovered and then got up and became champion. I am not just a stadium. I am a big chapter in the story of Indian cricket.