India, Feb. 17 -- The Indian team is giving final touches to a hard day's grind at practice in a bilateral series that will serve as the final dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup, where any result other than defending the title will be termed an underachievement by their legion of fans. Head coach Gautam Gambhir spots a fan in a deserted stand corner. The fan has a sharp beard and an upright moustache dyed saffron, white, and green, representing India's colors. Gambhir hands the fan a match ticket for the following day's T20I tie against New Zealand in Visakhapatnam.

The proud ticket-holder Rajan Thakur, 32, comes from Delhi and is one among the growing tribe of Indian cricket team's superfans, whose ubiquitous presence livens the atmo...