Vantage | A lesson this World Cup taught India, a message it gave to the world

If you’re an Indian, Sunday was tough for you. Team India lost the ICC Cricket World Cup final. It was a major upset. India had won 10 matches on the trot, even beating eventual champions Australia in the group stages. But yesterday, it was not to be. That’s sport. In fact, the World Cup campaign slogan sums it up best: “It takes one day”. And Sunday was Australia’s day. But let’s not cling on to the disappointment.

Let’s look beyond cricket. What did this world cup do for India? Mainly two things, firstly it offered multiple lessons on hosting big events, and secondly cemented India’s place as the powerhouse of global cricket. Let’s go one by one, hosting a World Cup involves a lot of logistics, like matches were held in ten cities. They were spread across the length and breadth of the country and was it perfect? Maybe the atmosphere was, but the fan experience? Clearly not. The ticketing system was a mess from day one. Fans accused the Indian cricket board of hoarding tickets. And maybe they had a point. Sunday’s final was attended by around 90 thousand people. That was the official attendance. And what is the capacity of the Ahmedabad stadium? More than 130 thousand. So where did the remaining tickets go? Such questions will have to be answered. There needs to be transparency and trust, because India’s ambitions are not limited to cricket alone. The government wants to bid for the 2036 Olympics. It promises to be a historic bid. But it also means more scrutiny. More expectations from fans around the world. Which is why this world cup is a learning curve: How to manage tickets, how to build and prepare infrastructure, and how to put on a show. Takeaway number two is India’s cricket super-powerdom. It has been on full display since last month. Let’s look at viewership first. The final numbers are yet to be published. But after 35 games, the TV viewership was 500 million. To give you some context, in 35 out of 48 games in 2019 the overall viewership was 509 million. So this year’s final tally will be much bigger. According to the ICC, maybe twice, same with digital viewing. Yesterday’s Final logged 5.9 crore online viewers. Just imagine that 59 million users. If every screen had two viewers, that’s 120 million people. It’s a record on the streaming platform. In fact, Australia’s total population is just 27 million. So data says, interest is increasing. Maybe not in stadiums. But certainly on television. And that’s good for the game. The world cup also gave a boost to the national economy, reports say by around 2.4 billion dollars. Again, this is good for the game, because unless there are tangible benefits, why would any country host? So put together, the picture is clear: Cricket remains a major money spinner and most of that money comes from India. This World Cup was evidence of that. Just think back to the 2011 edition. India hosted and won that tournament. It was a sneak peak into the future of cricket into an era of cricket that India would dominate. But this World Cup wasn’t a sneak peak. It was a full-throated declaration. As they say, no half measures. You had an air show over the stadium, drone and laser shows, massive dance performances, only India could have pulled this off. And maybe that’s what cricket needs. More drama, more spectacle and more pomp. So what is the biggest takeaway from this World Cup? That cricket’s fate lies in India’s hands. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.