NEW YORK: At the cultural crossroads of the world, New Yorkers will experience a thrilling first on Sunday — a World Cup cricket clash hosted in a US city between Asian powerhouses: rivals Pakistan and India.
” Pakistan-India is the game everyone would like to watch, and… it is taking place in our backyard,” said Ajith Shetty, head of two local cricket leagues. He told AFP that he is very very excited for the Sunday’s match.
However, roughly 10 miles from the pop-up stadium at Eisenhower Park on Long Island, fans interviewed in the bustling Little India neighborhood of Queens said they would not be able to attend the match in person.
Rajeet Krishna said, “I asked regarding it, but it is very expensive. I’ll watch the match between Pakistan and India on my mobile,”. Rajeet Krishna further said that Pakistan against India is special match and there is a long history there with the 34,000 seats in the stadium sold out for months.
Athar Ali, a Pakistani student said that he will watch the ‘high-voltage’ game between the arch rivals via his mobile phone. He hoped that Pakistan will win the match, adding anything can happen as Pakistan is the most dangerous and unpredictable team.
Beyond the Pakistanis and Indians, the match is eagerly anticipated by immigrants from other South Asian nations where cricket is popular game. Faros Ahmed described the rivalry as “Like lion and tiger”.
A local restaurant manager said, “Even if I am not Pakistani, not Indian, I am going to watch this match because this is a high-voltage clash,”. However, he said that he supports Pakistan and will broadcast the game for his customers.
The two nations do not meet outside of official competitions of the ICC, and the last test match between them was in 2007. Roop Sajnani an Indian said that they will win the match against Pakistan.
Mostakim Shahed, a 20-year-old student from Bangladesh said, with a smile “Let’s say we just like to see India lose against all the teams,”.
Sunday’s match is crucial for Pakistan, which risks elimination in the first round following a surprising loss on Thursday to the US, ranked 18th in the world.
US-based Pakistani journalist Wajahat S. Khan said that he had “never been more terrified or excited regarding a cricket match at the same time.” The US victory over sixth-ranked Pakistan has boosted interest in cricket in America, where the sport remains well outside the mainstream. Now, all the news channels are holding talks about it, people are explaining, what is this sport.
