During their match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday afternoon, five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians will be cheered by 19,000 young girls from 36 NGOs and 200 special children.
The attendance of young girls and special children is part of the franchise's annual initiative, Education and Sports for All (ESA) by the Reliance Foundation, where in every IPL season, children from NGOs across the city are invited to attend a live game and cheer for their favourite players.
Also, Sunday's match is dedicated to inspiring the girl child as part of this year's initiative, which began in 2010. The franchise also said a total of 500 BEST and private buses along with over 2000 volunteers will be deployed to transport these 19,000 children to the stadium. Moreover, there will be the provision of 100,000 food boxes and sufficient availability of water.
"This special match is a celebration of women in sports. This year saw a landmark beginning for India's women cricketers with the first-ever Women's Premier League. To spotlight girls' right to education and sport, we are dedicating this year's ESA event to the girl child! Reliance Foundation is proud to bring over 19,000 young girls from different NGOs to enjoy the IPL match live in the stadium this Sunday," said Nita M. Ambani, Chairperson, Reliance Foundation.
The kids in attendance for Sunday's game will also get special edition t-shirts, the opportunity to participate in the activities lined up in the Wankhede concourse and make their own banners that they can display during the match.
While Mumbai, led by Rohit Sharma, come into Sunday's game after getting their first win of the competition through a six-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Kolkata arrive after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 23 runs at home in the Eden Gardens.
Out of the 31 matches played between the two teams in the history of IPL, Mumbai have won 22 games while Kolkata have emerged victorious only nine times.