The greatest cricket carnival began yesterday with defending champions England taking on New Zealand at the biggest cricket stadium in the world in a country that arguably has the largest fanbase of the sport.

However, as England skipper Jos Buttler and the Blackcaps' stand-in captain Tom Latham made their way out to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, they did not get a raucous reception with most of the 132,000-capacity arena empty.

Even the few present at the stadium were mostly looking forward to another game -- the most-anticipated clash of the tournament between hosts India and archrivals Pakistan at this venue on October 14.

With the tradition of holding an opening ceremony bucked for the first time in many years, the vibe hardly had any difference from how it remains during the opener of a bilateral series.

Jyoti Malhotra, wearing a sari in the Indian tricolour, told AFP she was just "so excited" to be at the match.

But the big game she is looking forward is the tournament's blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

"I'm still looking for an India-Pakistan ticket," she said. "I'll be here for the final, hopefully India-Pakistan."

With seats already all sold out, the fans have been turning to the black market and touts, with tickets for a normal stand costing 2000 rupees ($24) shooting up more than 25 times in cost to as much as 50,000 rupees ($600).

Fan Zubair Ahmed said if he could, he would go.

"It's the most loved match in the world," he said. "The kind of emotions that flow when India win are so great, I can't explain it in words."