Google CEO Sundar Pichai swapped the boardroom for the broadcast box, making a special mid-innings appearance alongside Ravi Shastri during the high-octane India versus South Africa clash.
Stepping into the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad - an arena with 1.3 lakh capacity, Pichai admitted he was instantly awestruck by the magnitude of the venue. He noted that the sheer scale of the world's largest cricket stadium "hits you" the moment you walk through the gates.
But amid the modern spectacle, the tech titan quickly took a trip down memory lane. Chatting warmly with Shastri, Pichai reminisced about the golden era of the late 1980s, recalling the thrill of watching Shastri and Kris Srikkanth stride out to open the batting for India.
Despite his admiration for the dynamic duo, Pichai revealed that his ultimate childhood hero was the "Little Master". Like many die-hard cricket fans of his generation, Pichai confessed to idolising Sunil Gavaskar, proudly sharing that he grew up with a classic Sportstar magazine poster of the legend pinned to his bedroom wall.
The two men got the honour of carrying the coveted piece of silverware before the match officials and the two teams walked out for the national anthems.
Pichai has always said that he is an ardent cricket fan and follows Team India whenever they play. He regularly posts on X about cricket. He was very excited when USA jointly-hosted the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup with West Indies.
India and South Africa are facing-off in a crucial Group 1 fixture of the Super Eight stage of the tournament on Feb. 22. The two teams qualified for the Super Eight stage by winning their all four group-stage matches.
South Africa skipper Aiden Markaram won the toss and opted to bat first. The Proteas made four changes to the playing XI that took field against the UAE. For this match, South Africa brought back in Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller and Marco Jansen.
Meanwhile, India remained unchanged. South Africa posted an imposing 187/7 in their 20 overs thanks to David Miller's 63 off 35 balls. He was ably assisted by Dewald Brevis's 29-ball 45 and Stristan Stubbs's 24-ball 44 not out.
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