 "World Cup 2019 Social Pavilion: Stokes' catch, Jofra's six-year-old tweet, Sachin's debut, Kohli's wax statue and much more")
#CWC19 was off to a flier. Quite literally.
With the hosts taking on the Proteas, the match had blockbuster written all over it right from the start of the match. Skipper Eoin Morgan marked the occasion by playing his 200th ODI for England.
Tahir’s dismissal of Bairstow set #CWC19 up and running.
What a start. Faf pulls a rabbit out of the hat and it's a Tahir!!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 30, 2019
Starting with Tahir...South Africa might play a slightly different brand of cricket this #CWC19 I like it already... ☺️🤗
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 30, 2019
England steadied their ship in the middle overs as all the batters who came after Bairstow notched up half centuries. The hosts set a target of 312 for South Africa who never really look who never looked too happy about it. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals until they eventually folded up for a meagre 207.
However, the moment of the match came in the 35th over when Ben Stokes, who starred with the bat earlier decided to pluck one out of thin air much to the amusement of everyone. Social media went bonkers for this superhuman effort.
Nah Ben Stokes, that ain't normal.
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) May 30, 2019
That. Ain't. Normalhttps://t.co/EEsLReicFU #CWC19
Catch of the tournament....Ben Stokes might turn out to be both—The Catch and the one who’s taken the beat catch. 🙇♂️ #CWC19 #BenStokes #EngvSA
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 30, 2019
First day of the World Cup and we might have seen the catch of the tournament! #BenStokes
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 30, 2019
Also, ICC, your media team needs to up their game. First, you come up with this.
Ben Stokes has just taken one of the greatest catches you will EVER see!
— ICC (@ICC) May 30, 2019
Video coming soon 👀 #WeAreEngland #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/7wZtHdyWrP
Then, you ask us to do this.
Catches win matches! 👏
— ICC (@ICC) May 30, 2019
But which of these three outstanding grabs will you vote for to win the first @Nissan Play of the Day of #CWC19?
VOTE ➡️ https://t.co/7SsrSjNv2c pic.twitter.com/aDnYkYRyCO
Make up your mind, ICC!
Ben Stokes might have won the man of the match but Jofra Archer was in some form too.
He ended up with figures of 3 for 27 in his 7 overs.
Joffra Archer has silenced all skeptics and critics. Wonderful debut
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 30, 2019
Okay Jofra, we hear you. We’ll be careful from next time.
All cricketers on my TL buy 2 helmets cuz I ain mekkin no sport dis year
— Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) February 23, 2013
England might have had a good start to their campaign but there were also a few people who made their debuts elsewhere.
My first experience of commentary🎙! #CWC19 #ENGvSA pic.twitter.com/qtizT2OQfJ
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) May 30, 2019
Here’s Viru taking a trip down the memory lane.
Together again !
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) May 30, 2019
🌸 pic.twitter.com/QGR2091DS7
Indian captain Virat Kolhi’s wax statue was unveiled at Lord’s to mark the launch of the Cricket World Cup. The statue is dressed in the official Team India kit as well as shoes & gloves donated by Virat Kohli himself. It will be on display at Madame Tussauds until 15th July 2019.
His statue, after all, was not too bad compared to others previously.
Madame Tussauds have released a new waxwork of Virat Kohli for the Cricket World Cup. It’s not the worst likeness we’ve ever seen. In fact, it’s high art compared to the replicas of Michael Owen and Gary Lineker that were once exhibited at the Louis Tussauds House of Wax in Great Yarmouth. #CWC19 #cricket #ViratKohli #Kohli #India #Lords #sport #MadameTussaudsA post shared by Guardian Sport (@guardian_sport) on May 30, 2019 at 7:20am PDT
It is West Indies vs Pakistan today in #CWC19 at Trentbridge. By their own admission, the West Indies are not going to take it easy. Shai Hope recently backed them to be the first team to score 500 runs in an ODI innings. Pakistan, with their mightily talented batting line up won’t be pushovers as well. Let’s look forward to another cracker of a match. We leave you with this.
"Everybody likes to see West Indies play well. They're like the Brazil of football!"
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 31, 2019
Fans of the #MenInMaroon remember the team of the 70s and are looking forward to more of that passion and entertainment! Will they see that in Friday's #WIvPAK game? pic.twitter.com/Qc1MhzKYfC
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 "'I thought he made a big error...': Former England cricketer on Ben Stokes' captaincy against India")
 "Watch: Sachin Tendulkar meets babies born with facial deformities in Kashmir")
 "Sachin's Kashmir sojourn unveils tourist surge, highlights stark contrast with Pakistan")
 "Is Akaay, son of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, a British citizen by birth? Here are the rules")
 "'I thought he made a big error...': Former England cricketer on Ben Stokes' captaincy against India")