Bhubaneswar, March 14: Fasten your seatbelts for some action-packed cricket this week as our Men in Blue are all set to start their journey in the World T20 this year.
As India take on New Zealand on Tuesday and Pakistan on Saturday, residents here are offering prayers and performing religious rituals to "ensure" the victory of Team India.
Despite this being the examination season in various colleges, students are upbeat and were seen painting their face to cheering for the players.
Students of RD Women's University are rooting for Virat Kohli and Team India captain MS Dhoni.
"I hope Kohli will be the key player this year. His consistency will give the team an extra edge," said Ronali Ray, a postgraduate student of the varsity.
However, her friend Tanmayee Hota, believes that Hardik Pandya will be the team's trump card as India was always short of a fast bowler-cum-all-rounder.
"I look forward to seeing him strengthen the squad," she said.
Prayers are also flowing in for the players. "We will visit the temple tomorrow to pray for the team," said Priyabrat Bhoi, a student of Utkal University.
To make the experience memorable, many hotels and restaurants are ready to screen matches for their guests. They have also included special dishes on the menu in the name of different players such as Kohli kebab, Dhoni's helicopter, Bumrah's yorker and so on.
"People are excited to watch the slam-bang version of this gentlemen's game. We are putting up large screens and making arrangements for groups to sit together and enjoy the match," said Soumyajit Majumder, deputy general manager at HHI, Bhubaneswar.
When it comes to cricket, Indians never shy away from displaying their love for the game and also players. Even if one is watching match at home or outside with friends, they prefer to wear the team jersey to extend their support to the tea.
Both branded and roadside garment shops are selling Indian team jerseys and other cricket merchandises.
"The rush for accessories such as caps, key rings and wristbands are quite high. We are sure sale will shoot till March 19, the day when India lock horns with Pakistan," said Subrat Nayak, a retailer at Unit-I market complex.
Known for his art of creating designs on pencil nibs and soaps, artist L. Eswar Rao from Jatni has created a miniature figure of the World Cup on a pencil nib to cheer up Team India.
Sand artist Subal Maharana has also created an art installation wishing the team luck.
There is good news for residents here as Odia television and film actress and anchor Sunita Garabadu has been selected by the International Cricket Council to anchor matches in Nagpur. She has already hosted all the qualifying matches played at this stadium.
"Tomorrow's match will be my big event keeping in view the number of spectators who would be present in the stadium. It will be exciting and I am game for it," said an excited Sunita over phone.
