Motera matters: Change of hotel, Ricky Martin’s songs, pitch affair, new train

A prominent member of the Indian support staff has sought divine blessings at every venue where the team has played.

The BCCI, too, doesn't want to leave any stone unturned in order to give the 'Men in Blue' the best chance of winning the third T20 World Cup trophy.

So much so that prior to the semifinal, Indian team delayed its training session in Mumbai by 45 minutes to avoid the "ill-effects" of Lunar Eclipse.

In Ahmedabad, the BCCI has changed India's team hotel ahead of the final.

While no one will come on record but it is only fair to mention that during team's previous couple of stays in the earlier hotel in Ahmedabad, they lost two big matches (2023 ODI WC final and this year's Super 8s against South Africa).

You can't really grudge if they want to ensure that lady luck finally smiles on them.

Will India play on red soil pitch in the final

Having lost against South Africa on a black soil track two weeks back, Indian team management might opt for a red soil pitch for the final.

The Motera Stadium has all three kinds of track -- red, black and mixture of red and black.

The Wankhede Stadium only has red soil tracks and India's superb batting show might just prompt them to go for a red soil track.

That the track hasn't yet been finalised was evident with the broadcasters yet to fix the stump cam on any of the surfaces.

There was one particular surface which was keenly checked by the local curators and even BCCI CEO Hemang Amin was found doing a recce.

Later, that was the only surface that was covered while four adjoining tracks were also cordoned off.

'Un Dos Tres'

Puerto Rican Grammy award winning singer Ricky Martin will enthral near 100,000 spectators at the Narendra Modi Stadium along with 'Dandiya Queen' Phalguni Pathak and Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh ahead of the T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand on Sunday.

The ICC has planned a musical entertainment ahead of the toss and the audience are likely to get a chance to groove to the beats of his iconic chartbuster 'Un Dos Ttres (one two three) Maria'.

Western Railway's special train for final

Understanding the heavy demand of fans travelling to Ahmedabad for the big ticket finale, the Western Railway will run a special train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on the match day.

This will allow a convenient and affordable journey for the fans with the air fare prices of the Ahmedabad sector already soaring.