By: Express News ServiceOctober 1, 2025 12:51 PM IST 4 min read(LEFT) Bollywood singer Shreya Ghoshal performs during the India vs Sri Lanka ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati; (RIGHT) Spectators pay tribute to late singer Zubeen Garg. (PHOTOs: PTI. AP)When the official announcement of the total attendance was made in the press box on Tuesday night in Guwahati, there weren’t too many fans present in the stadium. It was due to a variety of contributing factors – a prominent festival day, a few rain delays that stretched the match well beyond 11 pm local time and Sri Lanka’s run-chase fizzling out after some early promise to render the result predictable sufficiently early. But the number itself was significant. The total attendance figure of 22,843 is now a new record for a World Cup group-stage or league match in any ICC women’s event – ODI and T20I World Cups combined.As reported by The Indian Express a day before the match, Guwahati was still in mourning after the recent death of musical icon Zubeen Garg. Locals said how many have been reluctant to get out of their homes over the last week or so because the loss feels heavy and personal, and the city which would have otherwise been bursting with activity during Navratri, sported a sombre look. But with the organisers announcing a tribute pre-match, with performances of Garg’s songs from many artists, the ACA stadium in Barsapara had a solid turnout one hour before the start of play.“The attendance of 22,843 spectators for the opening match of the ICC WCWC 2025 is the highest ever for a group stage fixture at any ICC Women’s event, beating the previous best of 15,935 at the India versus Pakistan fixture at the Dubai International Stadium during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024,” the ICC said.The day began with a deeply moving musical tribute to Assam’s beloved icon, the late Zubeen Garg. Acclaimed musicians Papon, Joi Barua, and the renowned Shillong Chamber Choir delivered stirring renditions of his most celebrated works, honouring his legacy in front of an emotional home crowd.Once the toss was completed and the massive national flags were unfurled just before the anthems, the cheers grew louder, reaching a crescendo when one of the most popular singers in the country walked out to the middle. As the players took the field, the emotion carried through with a stirring rendition of the national anthems with Shreya Ghoshal lending her voice to India’s national anthem and Nuwandhika Kumari singing the Sri Lankan national anthem.ALSO READ | CWC 25: In a city still mourning their icon Zubeen Garg, Women’s World Cup gets underway in Guwahati with India vs Sri LankaThe fireworks that accompanied Shreya Ghoshal’s mid-match ceremony made for an electric atmosphere, as the singer returned to the stage to perform the official tournament anthem, alongside a medley of her hit songs.Story continues below this adEarlier in the afternoon, BCCI also honoured 16 former Indian women cricketers, which included ICC Hall of Famers Diana Edulji and Neetu David, and former captains Shanta Rangaswamy, Pramila Bhatt, Purnima Rau, Anjum Chopra and Mithali Raj.This competition has been earmarked by many as a game-changer for women’s cricket in India, with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar emphasising the importance of the tournament. “I must acknowledge the strides made in the past few years,” he stated. “The Women’s Premier League has been nothing short of a game-changer. It has provided the platform, visibility, and financial security that generations of women cricketers could only dream of.There have been pre-tournament concerns about taking the Women’s World Cup to non-prominent cricket centers in India with only DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai having any recent reputation for hosting women’s matches with some impressive turnouts. The ticket announcements happened only a month before the tournament’s start date, rendering travel plans – if any – difficult. But Guwahati’s turnout on the opening night stands out as an impressive feat, and augurs well for the rest of the tournament which matches taking place in Indore, Vizag and Navi Mumbai, to go with Colombo in Sri Lanka.(With ICC inputs)Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd