You know her! Yes, she is the ‘prayer aunty’ you see in every Mumbai Indians’ game in the Indian Premier League. Cricket in India is a religion and its players – gods. So, people with closed fists and their closed eyes are seen often on grounds, be it in India or in the stands of Lords or Perth. MI’s ‘Prayer Aunty’ is one of them, who prays and believes that her favourite team or players are going to shine irrespective of the challenges.
Spotted in the stands during the final of 2017, she first came to the light when Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan revealed her name. She is MI’s owner Nita Ambani’s mother, Purnima Dalal. In that final Mumbai pipped Rising Pune Supergiants by one run to lift their 3rd title.
In the 13th edition, ‘Prayer Aunty’ was there in the stands supporting Rohit Sharma’s MI. The match hailed as the Qualifier 1, was of immense importance to both MI and Delhi Capitals. However, Hardik Pandya’s one-man show in the last five overs saw MI racking up 200 runs. With a ravaging bowling attack, Mumbai ripped apart Shreyas Iyer’s Delhi. Jasprit Bumrah returned with 4 wickets and Trent Boult bagged 2.
DC’s top 3 batsmen returned with ducks. While Marcus Stoinis and Axar Patel started to milk the MI bowlers, Bumrah’s match-winning spell restricted them from nearing anywhere the target. Delhi fell 57 runs short of the target and Mumbai qualified for their sixth final. It seems like her presence again did the trick.
Here are some of the Twitter reactions:
Omg prayer aunty is in the stands today! ? #MIvDC pic.twitter.com/aLKYvZbNdJ
— Tina Tengra ??♀️ (@tinatengra07) November 5, 2020
Prayer aunty seen in the stands….mumbai is winning for sure?#MIvsDC
— Aman Raj Raghuwanshi? (@amanraj208) November 5, 2020
Prayer Aunty is in the stadium. Let’s see who is gonna stop us from winning the title this time ??
— rocKSTar? (@kst7781) November 5, 2020
Beware @DelhiCapitals prayer aunty is back in today’s #Qualifier1 #MIvDC pic.twitter.com/855k7GWjOU
— ZayN AFwaN (@afwanlefthander) November 5, 2020
