The second leg of my travels this World Cup has brought me back "home" - Delhi is where I lived until moving to Mumbai in early 2022. The streets here are colourful, the language more so.
I'd hoped for more of a World Cup buzz in the city, having heard of the solid atmosphere that accompanied Saturday's run-fest between South Africa and Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, but quite like the matches assigned to the capital, the tournament in these parts feels not-so-high-profile. Chennai had giant World Cup signage right as you exited the airport; Delhi - T2, at least - did nothing to inform you that you're in a World Cup city.
The first stop (geez, how cliched is this going to sound) was for chole bhature. Not just any chole bhature - the chole bhature that was Virat Kohli's favourite meal growing up in West Delhi. The elderly man who heads things here says that while he's told Kohli was once a weekly visitor (every Sunday, after practice, I'm told), the shop owners themselves were only made aware of Kohli's affinity to the place through the much-viral interviews from recent years. And though Kohli himself hasn't returned much since he turned his diet around, the shop's stocks have gone through the roof in recent years. As for the chole bhature itself: it's good, but not the best I've had in Delhi. Sorry, Virat (and fans).
My food quest for day two (yeah, I've got my priorities straight) takes me to the food haven of Jama Masjid. I've planned the day meticulously enough to be close to the Kotla well before training sessions kick off, and do the walk made by Sidharth Monga a day earlier in reverse. It's too early in the day for any of the kerb-side kebab places, of which one in three seems to go by some version of the name Qureshi (which one's the real deal? Whoever knows, please DM!). But it's perfectly timed to have the breakfast of champions: nihari at the iconic Karim's. Given the time of day, there are hardly any customers here, and that's just as well: come matchday there will be little room before the game, and none at all for several hours after - this is where the Kotla matchday experience commences or concludes for hundreds, if not thousands, of the crowd in attendance. I ask the servers and the manager if they're psyched for the incoming traffic. They look at me unperturbed - "nothing we haven't seen before". Makes sense, when you've been around for 110 years.
Off I go to view training, and that's when Delhi, the World Cup venue, redeems itself. I walk to the exit just as Afghanistan are wrapping up, which is also when India are due to arrive at the ground. And there's a sizable crowd gathered. Big deal, you say? India are about to arrive for training, surely there are people queuing up? But it's 5pm, on a workday, in October - it's far from a pleasant afternoon, and the AQI has hit "very unhealthy" levels. Of course, they chant and they yell in delight when the India bus arrives - "Voh dekh, voh raha Kohli" (Look, look, that's Kohli) being a common remark from many. But equally good to see, if not more, was the cheering for Afghanistan as their bus departed - "Oye oye, voh dekho, Rashid bhai" (Hey, hey, there's Rashid)... "Arey voh toh Nabi tha naa?" (Hey that was Nabi there right?).
Yes, the World Cup is well and truly underway in Delhi.