The renovated Motera stadium here is yet to host its first cricket match but on Monday the sprawling facility became the site of a public spectacle where US President Donald Trump showered encomiums on India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid a rather deliriouscrowd.
The jam-packed arena, also known as Sardar Patel Stadium, frequently broke into applause as people displayed enthusiasm for the first visit by any US president to the home State of Modi.
Trumps praise for India, his denouncing of the menace of terrorism and his try at Hindi during his over 25-minute- long speech was well received by people and punctuated by constant clapping by the nearly 1.25 lakh-strong crowd.
People were pleased when Trump praised Modi, remembering his humble background as a “chaiwala” (tea seller) and his inspiring journey to the office of Prime Minister.
Though Modi and Trump's address for 'Namaste Trump' event was scheduled to start after 1.30 pm, people from across Gujarat started arriving at the world's biggest cricket stadium since 8 am.
Though placards and flags were not allowed to be taken inside the stadium located in the Motera area, people were seen wearing masks of Trump and Modi.
There was a continuous stream of people towards the stadium since the morning as parking areas for vehicles was kept some distance away from the stadium.