India, Dec. 15 -- A 90-minute delay, a persistent smoky haze and an AQI upwards of 450 did little to dim the enthusiasm of a 25,000-strong crowd at the Arun Jaitley Stadium as football's global superstar Lionel Messi descended on the national capital to wind up his whirlwind three-day, four-city GOAT India Tour on Monday.

On a day that saw the city gasping under severe pollution that threw air traffic completely out of gear, Messi's chartered flight from Mumbai landed after a significant delay, pushing the event behind schedule by 90 minutes. Unperturbed, the crowd began to pour in as soon as the stadium gates were thrown open at 11:30 am, and within an hour, the ground was brimming with people dressed in Albiceleste's blue and white str...