A sea of blue, orange, green and white surrounded the rectangular cricket pitch on Long Island’s Eisenhower Park on Sunday afternoon. Despite two separate delays, the Cricket World Cup initial showdown between India and Pakistan, both countries with superstar teams, gathered near-constant cheers from the audience.
The stadium, built especially for this cricket tournament, held a capacity of 34,000; somehow, the final tally for attendance by the International Cricket Council was 34,028.
The fans who filled seats, cheered, laughed and cried came from across the country, and even across the world for the game.
“It’s India [versus] Pakistan, it’s a massive deal – it’s as big as it gets anywhere in the world,” Abha Singh said. She came to the game with her husband and two children from New Delhi, India to watch the game. “For us, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment to come down and watch this match.”
Singh’s husband, Neel, has been playing cricket since he was little. He said the matches between India and Pakistan are always incredibly energized; the rivalry between the two was born out of the two countries’ fraught geopolitical history that extends into the present day.
“India and Pakistan were one country at one point in time. We’re neighbors, we’ve fought wars,” he said. “Cricket unites us, yet we compete. It’s certainly more than a match, and more than a game.”
The Cricket World Cup is the second-most watched sporting event in the world, and this match is considered one of the most important. For comparison, this year, the Super Bowl drew over 100 million viewers. Nearly three times that number watched last year’s World Cup final between India and Australia.
Steven Esperanza, who has been working as an usher for the tournament, said he doesn't know much about cricket, but he’s never seen a game quite like this one.
“I’ve been an usher for 17 years. I worked Jets games, Giants games, concerts, the Super Bowl… I’ve gotta put this at the top of my list,” Esperanza said.
“They told us yesterday that this day was going to be super intense with India and Pakistan, and they weren’t joking. I see the excitement from the fans. When I see them get into it, I feel like I get into it as well — like, let me see what’s going on here.”
Nearing the end of the game, most fans believed the win was in Pakistan’s hands, and some even left the stadium early. But when India turned the score around, the stadium — alongside watch parties worldwide — erupted.
This is Pakistan’s second loss in the tournament, its first being a shocking loss against the United States last week. This is the first time the U.S. has played in and hosted the tournament. The last match of the tournament that Nassau County will be hosting will take place on June 12, with India playing against the United States.
