Before India's 2023 World Cup, the trophy was launched into the stratosphere
Weeks before the first ball, the men's Cricket World Cup trophy rode a balloon up into the stratosphere and came down at the stadium in Ahmedabad, making it the first sports trophy sent into space. The tournament that followed drew more than 1.25 million spectators, and Australia spoiled the home party in the final.
The 13th edition ran from 5 October to 19 November 2023 across ten cities. India had co-hosted three times before, most recently in 2011 with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but this was its first as sole host, and the first time any single nation had staged the event alone since 1979. It was originally pencilled in for February and March, then pushed back after the pandemic disrupted qualifying.
Qualifying produced a shock. The West Indies, twice champions, failed to reach a World Cup for the first time after losing to Scotland, and full members Ireland and Zimbabwe also missed out. The Netherlands took the last place by beating Scotland in an eliminator. The oldest player on show was the Dutch batter Wesley Barresi at 39, the youngest Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad at 18.
Organisers tinkered with conditions. Autumn dew had handed teams batting second an edge at an earlier T20 event, so grounds used a wetting agent, left more grass on pitches to help seamers, and set boundaries at about 70 metres. It was also the first World Cup to punish slow over rates during play, limiting a tardy bowling side to four fielders outside the inner circle. A planned opening ceremony was scrapped, and the official song, Dil Jashn Bole by Pritam, was poorly received.
India, the first side into the semi-finals, beat New Zealand to reach the final, but Australia won by six wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium to claim a sixth title. Audiences broke records: 518 million people watched in India, the final peaked at 59 million streams, and roughly 300 million tuned in worldwide. The mascots were a pair called Tonk and Blaze.
Source: 2023 Cricket World Cup
