In our country, cricket is not just a sport, it is a religion in itself which is followed by crores of people. The game is deeply woven into India’s culture. It’s a passion that connects people across cities, villages, and diverse backgrounds. The fandom transcends language, religion, or social standing and is a unifying force. With the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, the cricket fever is on a complete high. The whole country is praying that we get the Cup back home this year post our iconic 2011 win. The India Vs. Australia match yesterday, October 8, 2023, proved to be a step closer to the World Cup dream.

india vs australia icc men's world cup 2023 cricket virat kohli kl rahul ind vs. aus

When we were 5/3 after the first three overs in the opening match yesterday against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) in Chennai, our hopes were hanging by a thread. But in the end two-time World Cup winners, India, hammered Australia by six wickets with 52 balls remaining! And we saw the Asia Cup 2023 – Ind Vs. Pak history repeat as Virat Kohli and KL Rahul‘s partnership aided India in emerging victorious. KL Rahul stood unbeaten on 97(115), while Kohli slammed 85(116) as the pair stitched a crucial 165(215)-run score till Virat got out. And we cannot celebrate this victory without appreciating the best bowling performances by the entire bowling squad.

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Brand integrations into sports, especially cricket, have grown into a huge phenomenon now. Legendary moments like the Ind Vs. Aus win provide a golden opportunity for brands to jump on the moment marketing bandwagon. They get to showcase their products and features very effectively and creatively in front of a wide audience, thus broadening their reach. Many brands were quick to grab this ‘moment marketing’ opportunity and some came up with really cool and quirky posts to celebrate this epic win on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Let’s take a look:

Swiggy

Swiggy India captioned this post, “order 1 delivered. 10 more to go.” What a confident way to show belief in Team India who delivered a sweet defeat to Australia. Afghanistan and Pakistan are next in line and we’d be 7 matches away from winning the World Cup 2023.

Swiggy Instamart

With an ‘X’ account filled with posts cheering India, Swiggy Instamart has been all about the country’s opening match performance. Their cheeky wordplay with the Hindi word “aasun” and “AUSu” made for a good laugh as they tried to rub salt on the wounds of the Australian fans. “Chepauk and Sir Jadeja a better love story than Chai and Parle-G <3” the brand tweeted while appreciating the ace bowler’s performance yesterday. Another post said, “Let the world know, cheeku is coming for the world cup,” amongst many others.

Netflix

Virat and KL make the best partnership records. Netflix India decided to celebrate that with this Oscar-winning song “Naatu Naatu” which depicted the friendship of Ram and Bheem in the movie RRR. “This p̶a̶r̶t̶n̶e̶r̶s̶h̶i̶p̶ dosti got us all dreaming again ♥️🏏” Netflix captioned the post.

Playing on their popular tagline “Now Streaming,” they turned it into “Now Dreaming” as an ode to the 1.4 Billion people in the country that are hoping India wins this year.

Tinder

Tinder India hit right in the feels. An important match-day like yesterday’s would definitely be a bad day to go on a date. As there are high chances that your date can’t take their eyes of the phone screen instead of you.

We agree with Tinder. A partnership like Virat and Rahul’s where there is mutual understanding and trust, is what makes any relationship last.

Zomato

Australia had a good game going initially which did put pressure on the Indian Team. But our players fought back and ultimately won. When it comes to the world of biryani, “veg biryani” does not exist as a concept. Zomato used this insight to draw a parallel between biryani and Australia’s game yesterday.

Boat

Boat India celebrated the legendary players with their quirky wordplay, referring to Virat Kohli as King and playing on the word ‘clap’ using KL’s name.

Amazon Prime Video

 Prime Video‘s documentary “The Test” showcases the Australian men’s cricket team’s attempts to rebuild its reputation after being rocked by the “sandpaper scandal” of 2018. To honour Virat Kohli’s spectacular performance from yesterday, the OTT platform used a scene from the show which basically said that Australia lost another game because of Kohli.

Uber

Uber India highlighted the win in it’s quintessential way. Most people address their Uber driver as ‘bhaiya’ and Team India turned on the heat with their amazing game yesterday. Thus, this quirky post on X makes a lot of sense.

Domino’s

Domino’s India compared Kohli and Rahul as a pair to another iconic pair – garlic breadsticks and chees dip. Both work the best with each other, delivering the best results.

Pizza Hut

While appreciating the batsmen, we must also honour the bowlers of the team who did exceptionally well. Ravindra Jadeja picked 3 wickets for 28 runs, with two of those coming in the same over. Pizza Hut India dedicated this post on X to him.

These awe-inspiring ‘moment marketing’ posts by brands further strengthen the craze and love we as a country have for cricket and the players. It is creatively stimulating to see brands put their best thoughts forward to seamlessly integrate their product with the legendary moments of the match.