Ready for business: The England players will be keen to start their campaign on a winning note
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
The New Zealand and England teams arrived here on Tuesday for the World Cup opener on Thursday.
Both will have a day’s training at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.
The dew factor is something the teams will prepare for as it could impact the opening game. It is learnt that there has been dew on the outfield for the last few days and the ground staff are planning to use the anti-dew spray on the morning of the match, if needed.
Three pitches of different types — black soil, red soil and one mixture of red and black — will be used for the five matches to be played at this venue.
During the IPL, there were quite a few high-scoring contests and the World Cup games, too, are expected to produce a lot of runs. It is understood that there won’t be an elaborate opening ceremony and just a photo-shoot featuring the 10 captains on Wednesday. Apart from the World Cup opener, the world’s largest cricket stadium will host other marquee matches, including India vs Pakistan, England vs Australia and the final. on November 19.
On Tuesday, the ground staff were giving the finishing touches to get the venue ready for the opener and sprucing up the place with new wall photographs chronicling India’s two World Cup-winning moments.