Australian Deputy PM Richard Marles to watch ICC Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad

NEW DELHI: Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will watch the Cricket World Cup Final between India and Australia in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on November 19, Ministry of Defence announced in a press release.

Ahead of the ICC World Cup Final, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a high-level meeting on Friday and reviewed security, cleanliness, and traffic management-related arrangements.

As per the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Deputy PM Richard Marles will watch the ICC Cricket World Cup final match at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad.

India stormed into the finals after registering a comprehensive 70-run victory over New Zealand on Wednesday. In the second semifinal, South Africa made Australia sweat in their chase of a humble target of 213 on a spiteful surface at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The five-time champions slipped in its chase but recovered just in time to scrape past the Proteas. Australia skipper Pat Cummins and speedster Mitchell Starc held their nerves to take the hosts to a three-wicket win.

During his visit to India, Richard Marles will co-chair the 2nd India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The two leaders will also hold bilateral meeting on defence cooperation on November 20 followed by the 2+2 Dialogue.

The 2+2 dialogue will be co-chaired by Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar along with their Australian counterparts, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong. Notably, the inaugural 2+2 ministerial dialogue took place in New Delhi in September 2021.

In the press release, the Ministry of Defence said, “India and Australia are pursuing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the visit of Minister Marles is expected to give further impetus to the collaboration as well as bilateral defence cooperation.”

“The two countries are expected to discuss wide-ranging issues of mutual interest during the 2+2 dialogue and the bilateral Defence Ministers’ meeting,” it added.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the list of celebrities who will perform ahead of the ODI World Cup final between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

According to the official release by the cricket board, the Surya Kiran acrobatic team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will put up a dazzling air show before the match gets underway. The airshow is scheduled to be staged between 1.30 pm and 1.50 pm.

During the 1st Innings drinks break Gujarati singer Aditya Gadhvi will perform at the grand event. Gadhvi’s latest ‘Khalasi’ is topping the charts.

During the Innings break, the full house at the Narendra Modi Stadium will be treated to live performances by music composer Pritam and singers Jonita Gandhi, Nakash Aziz, Amit Mishra, Akasa Singh and Tushar Joshi.