• Source:JND
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India and Pakistan share the biggest rivalry among the cricket-playing nations. Since the announcement of the World Cup 2023 schedule, fans are going crazy for the blockbuster clash between the neighbouring countries which is slated for October 15 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. For the highly-anticipated encounter, hotel searches in the city have spiked to over 1700% which will host five matches in the tournament including India vs Pakistan encounter.

World Cup will be played from October 5 to November 19 with Ahmedabad hosting the opening match between England and New Zealand and also the final. But the buzz is all about India's league stage fixture against Pakistan as the battle is set to break all-time broadcast and digital viewership records.

Digital travel platform, Agoda, has revealed a 1702% surge in searches for stays in Ahmedabad in the wake of the much-anticipated Cricket World Cup 2023.

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For the first, India will host the coveted event across 10 venues and since its announcement, the sporting spectacle has contributed to a 237% hike in overall searches for the host cities throughout the country.

Apart from Ahmedabad, Dharamshala is the second-most searched place among the hosting cities ahead of metropolitans Lucknow, Hyderabad and Pune.

"While Ahmedabad emerged as the obvious fan favourite, the host cities of Dharamshala (347%), Lucknow (225%), Hyderabad (199%) and Pune (169%) have all witnessed search spikes around the match dates," the report read.

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Furthermore, cricket is not only the most popular sport in India but also holds an unquestionable draw for fans from all over the world. The 2023 edition, thus, has intercontinental fans gearing up to watch the exciting matches live - with the UK, USA, Singapore, Australia, and Malaysia leading the inbound search charts for the host cities around the match dates.

Commenting on this trend, Krishna Rathi, Agoda Country Director, India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives said, "We are thrilled to see the enthusiasm of cricket fans for the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2023. At Agoda, we have recently seen a spike in travel driven by live events and global sports tournaments and the World Cup is no exception. The event has always been one of the most sought-after in India, and it is great to see the interest from international travellers as well."