[Watch] Special prayers offered at Mahakaleshwar temple ahead of IND vs PAK match of 2023 World Cup
The highly anticipated 2023 World Cup match between India and Pakistan is set to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14.
Ahead of the encounter, a special puja was conducted at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, for the Men in Blue's victory. The priests performed the puja by reciting mantras.
You can watch the video of the special puja below:
Gaurav Sharma, a priest at the temple, stated that prayers were offered for India's win over Pakistan and for the team's World Cup victory. He was quoted as saying by ANI:
"Today there is a big match between India and Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup. The big match is not less than a festival in India. As every festival starts with prayers of Baba Mahakal (Lord Shiva), today, in the same way, all priests of the temple have offered prayers to Lord Mahakal for the victory of the Indian team.
"With the blessings of Lord Mahakal, India should emerge victorious in today's match and it was also wished that India should lift the World Cup."
It is worth mentioning that several Team India stars, including Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kuldeep Yadav, have paid a visit to the iconic temple this year to seek blessings.
Pakistan are yet to win a single match against India in ODI World Cups
Looking at the head-to-head record of India and Pakistan, Rohit Sharma and Co. will have a massive psychological advantage, as India boast a flawless 7-0 against their arch-rivals in ODI World Cups.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, however, is hopeful of his men turning things around this time around. Here's what he said about their losing streak at the pre-match press conference:
"I don't want to focus on what has happened in the past. I want to keep my focus on what's to come. Records are made to be broken. We will try and break this too.
"We are hoping to come up with a good performance tomorrow. India vs Pakistan depends a lot on who does well on the big day. I have belief that my boys will be able to step up on the day."
Both India and Pakistan have secured victories in their first two fixtures of the showpiece event. India are placed third in the points table with a net rate of 1.500, while Pakistan occupy the fourth spot with a net run rate of 0.927.