Cricket World Cup 2023: 'Not planning to watch the match,' says Anand Mahindra

With about an hour to go for the iconic clash between India and Australia for the ODI World Cup final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, industrialist Anand Mahindra declared that he was not planning on watching the match.

As the stadium turns into a sea of blue with thousands in India jerseys and millions of cricket fans stuck in front of their televisions and phones, this declaration may sound odd, but for the Mahindra Group chairman, this act would be his "service to the nation".

"No, no, I am not planning to watch the match (my service to the nation). But I will, indeed, be wearing this jersey and installing myself in a hermetically sealed chamber with no contact with the outside world until someone knocks and tells me we’ve won…" he wrote on X.

While superstitions play a major role whenever it comes to cricket matches featuring India, Anand Mahindra too has one -- he believes every time he watches a match, India ends up losing. There have also been times that he gave up watching a match midway because of how poorly the team was faring. At other times, he has also been requested by his followers to not watch crucial matches to give India a better chance at winning.

That's also a reason why several of his 10.8 million followers cheered after his announcement ahead of the India vs Australia World Cup final match.