Just as KL Rahul's chip over covers cleared the ropes for an inadvertent six that sealed India's victory over Australia on Sunday, the first round of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 came to a close.

All ten teams in the tournament now have one match each under their belts. Five teams have opened their accounts with victories while the remaining five's point's column remains barren.

Although the tournament is yet to see a match go down to the wire, the first four days have shown that the varied nature of wickets across India will provide the setting for an interesting tournament.

There will be run fests, like the one in Delhi where South Africa posted the highest ever total in a World Cup and despite putting 326 on the board in the chase, Sri Lanka lost the match by a whopping margin of 102 runs.

There will also be low-scoring affairs, like the match in Chennai between India and Australia where the latter got bamboozled for 199 on a spinning track and the hosts had to recover from a top-order collapse where they lost three wickets for just two runs to complete the chase successfully.

From Bangladesh's standpoint, the first round ended in a pleasant manner as they aced their first test, defeating Afghanistan by six wickets in Dharamshala.

While the action on the field was captivating, the overall ambience of the tournament still seemed off.

India, a country known for its obsessive love for cricket, have not been the most enthusiastic hosts so far.

The absence of an opening ceremony felt odd, as putting on glitzy spectacles before a cricketing event is something the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is very good at, as evidenced by the ceremonies before every edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The expectation all around was that the tournament would find its groove once the on-field action began.

But BCCI's decision not to keep India in the opening game and hosting it in the world's largest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, didn't allow that.

The huge empty spaces in the gallery as the England and New Zealand team took the field for the World Cup opener definitely took some gloss away from the occasion.

Spectators watch the 2023 ICC men's cricket World Cup match between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 5, 2023. Photo: AFP

More people trickled into the venue later in the day and the Indian officials claim that around 40,000 spectators were present at the stands.

But in a venue that claims to have a seating capacity of 132,000, even an attendance of 40 thousand is bound to look insubstantial.

The crowd, as expected, turned up in huge numbers for the India-Australia clash. But attendance for the other games remained underwhelming.

Ensuring a packed gallery in every match is not something a cricket board can ensure as at the end of the day it's the people who decide which matches they want to see in person, and which they don't.

But the outfield of a ground is something a cricket board should have complete authority over and must take responsibility for if things go wrong.

Bangladesh's match against Afghanistan was a nervy affair to sit through for cricket fans of both countries not because of the action in the middle, as the Tigers dominated the majority of the match barring the first few overs, but because of the bumpy outfield in Dharamshala.

As players from both teams dived around to stop the ball, their limbs were getting visibly caught on the sandy ground, putting them at risk of a major injury at the very start of the tournament.

Rashid Khan hurt his hands while fielding during the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match in the ICC World Cup 2023 in Dharamshala on October 7, 2023. Photo: AFP

The commentators admonished the nature of the outfield and fielders had to literally risk their limbs every time they put in a dive to stop the ball.

The bumpy nature of the outfield is most likely the reason why England, even after getting pummeled by Kiwis in their opening fixture, are unlikely to risk playing Ben Stokes against Bangladesh in Dharamshala.

The mishaps didn't end on the stands and on the outfield as even the usually reliable broadcasters also slipped up.

During the first innings of the match between Pakistan and the Netherlands, the scorecard disappeared from the screen for a few overs.

As fans began flipping through channels to figure out why they weren't seeing a scorecard, the commentators clarified on air that due to some technical difficulties, the scorecard was missing.

The situation continued for a few overs before the scorecard finally reappeared and thankfully remained there for the rest of the match.

Amidst so many mishaps, the only silver lining for the organisers is the fact that only four days have passed in the 46-day tournament. This means, they still have time to make up for the jittery start and deliver a memorable World Cup for the spectators.

But if new issues keep popping up every other day like the first four days, this might end up becoming a World Cup the BCCI would want everyone to forget.