AHMEDABAD (AFP)
Tens of thousands of Indian cricket fans streamed toward the T20 World Cup final stadium Sunday and millions more will be glued to their televisions desperate to witness a historic home triumph.
India face New Zealand in Ahmedabad as they attempt to become the first team to retain the trophy, the first to win it on home soil, and the first to claim a third world T20 crown.
Cricket's T20 showpiece, a month-long tournament of 55 matches featuring 20 teams, concludes on Sunday evening at the 130,000-seat Narendra Modi Stadium, the world's largest cricket venue.
Diehard supporters arrived from across the country, many clad in Indian colours and waving the tricolour flag.
India, the world's top-ranked T20 team, knocked out England in a nerve-shredding semi-final in Mumbai. The match drew 619 million views on streaming platform JioHotstar, according to the company, including a 65 million peak at the same time.
International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah said it "shattered the world record for digital viewership".
India, the world's most populous country with 1.4 billion people, is the epicentre of the T20 game through the lucrative Indian Premier League.
New Zealand has meanwhile said they would not mind being the underdogs and breaking hearts in the final. The Kiwis reached the final after sweeping past South Africa in a ruthless nine-wicket win, and are chasing their first global T20 crown after falling short in previous campaigns.
"We are pretty consistent because we try not get overawed by the situation or opponents. We just go out there and do our thing," Santner told reporters on Saturday. "It's going to be an opposite challenge where everyone knows we're probably not the favourites. But we don't mind. We know we can do little things well and put in a strong team performance."
Despite the size of the occasion, Santner has urged his side to treat it like any other day at the office.
"It's easy to say it's just another game - everyone knows it's probably not - but the way you go about it has to be the same," he added.
Dozens of Bollywood dancers and live music will also be part of the show ahead of the match, which begins at 7:00pm (1330 GMT).
Grammy Awards winning singer Ricky Martin will also perform -- the 1990s pop icon last month guest-starred at the Super Bowl, alongside fellow Puerto Rican Bad Bunny. Also on stage will be Indian musicians including Gujarati singer Falguni Pathak and Bhangra star Sukhbir.