NEW YORK: Thousands of Indian and Pakistani cricket fans flocked to New York on Sunday to watch the T20 World Cup showdown between the two countries, bringing a touch of the Indian subcontinent to a land unfamiliar to the sport.
The temporary 34,000-seat Nassau County Cricket Stadium, built at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, Long Island, was filled to capacity as fans traveled from far away to watch the match.
The United States is co-hosting the T20 World Cup with the West Indies, with matches also being held in Lauderhill, South Florida, and Dallas.
The match is the highlight of the group stage of the tournament and the head-to-head encounter between the two rival teams will have far-reaching implications beyond cricket.
Political tensions and security concerns mean the two teams rarely meet outside of major tournaments, but there was no sign of those issues as fans were in celebratory spirit despite a rain-delayed start to the game.
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For members of the Indian community in the US, the tournament offers a rare opportunity to watch their heroes live instead of via internet streaming.
“This is a unique venue as it is right in our backyard. This is the first time we are getting to experience cricket, the national sport of both India and Pakistan. We are really fortunate that this amazing stadium has been built just for this event,” said Kumar Mathuria from New York.
“There are a lot of cricket fans in the region but I've also met people who have flown in from other parts of India and overseas to watch the match. It's incredible,” he added.
In the crowded streets around the venue, vendors sold jerseys from both teams and Pakistani fans waved the national flag from the top of SUVs.
Pakistan supporter Eswar Malik, who flew in from St. Louis to watch the game, said the rivalry is now understood by Americans.
“It's an old rivalry. It's an old rivalry that goes on forever, like the Yankees and Red Sox or St. Louis and Chicago,” he said.
This will be the fifth match to be held at the venue but it will be the most highly anticipated to date and the only one to see the stadium sold out.
This was evident from the long queues at security and the chaos around the car park.
Secondary market tickets are still available through various apps, but last-minute buyers should be prepared to shell out more than $1,500 for a general admission ticket.
Inside the stadium, “New York” signage was the only reminder where the match was taking place, and the music and pre-match excitement were clearly designed for fans from both countries.
There were huge cheers as former India great Sachin Tendulkar was introduced to the crowd during a pre-match interview.
Siddharth Kadavarti drove 10 hours from North Carolina to watch the match and said he couldn't miss the chance to watch Indian greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in what may be their final game.
“They are absolute legends of Indian cricket and the sport and we may never see them again in a match like this, so even though it was a 20-hour drive round trip, it was something we weren't going to miss,” he said.
A beaming Musalia gave no particular reason for attending: “It's simply one of the biggest events in sport.”
