India faced Australia at The Oval on Wednesday, 7 June. Rohit Singh was the winner of the toss, and chose to bowl first. The selected playing XI also appeared to be settled. Adidas designed and produced the new Adidas match jerseys that the players wore as they walked to the pitch. There was one unusual thing that stood out- a black wristband.
Fans were confused by the black armbands worn by all the Indian players. The two Australian batters wore black armbands as well. Fans were left wondering why the players from both teams were wearing black armbands. It was to show respect for the recent incident that occurred in the country.
The Indian and Australian players wear black armbands as a tribute to those who died in the Odisha rail accident. In a train crash that occurred near the Balasore District in Odisha, three trains collided with each other. More than 250 people were killed. Both teams observed a moment of silence in honor of the victims.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a press release explaining Team India’s gesture. The BCCI announced that the Indian Cricket Team would observe a minute of silence to remember the victims of Odisha’s train tragedy before the first day of play at The Oval of the ICC World Test Championship Final.
The team offers its condolences and mourns for the tragic deaths of those involved. Team India will wear armbands in black to show solidarity with the affected.
Both teams receive praise from fans for their gesture
Fans shared their opinions on social media after seeing the images of players from both teams wearing black armbands. The majority of fans were touched by the gesture made by both teams.
India started the game well as Mohammed Siraj removed Usman Khawaja during his second over. Khawaja was caught behind the wicket by the right-arm pacer, who has a knack of striking the ball with the new ball. The Australian opener was dismissed without scoring.
