The Mumbai Indians versus Delhi Daredevils IPL game at the Wankhede Stadium today saw 21,000 students in attendance as part of the MI's "Education and Sports for All" initiative.
The initiative, which started eight seasons ago, gets schoolchildren from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai to watch one match every year in this manner so that they can experience the thrills of a T20 game seated inside a stadium.
"This year there are 21,000 children who have been brought together by nine NGOs. They have been brought to the stadium in over 400 buses run mostly by the BEST Undertaking. Food packets and water are provided to each child and they are tracked from the pick-up points till all of them are safely home after the return journey. The whole process will last till 1 or 2 am," said an MI spokesperson.
This annual feature had started in a small way by bringing in 300-400 school children in 2010 and over the last two seasons had swelled to around 18,000.
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