It was virtually India vs. India at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York as the T20 World Cup favorites qualified for the Super Eight stage with a win over the United States, a team dominated by immigrants, many of whom are from India.
The stadium was buzzing with blue energy during the match and while India supporters dominated the crowd, some U.S. supporters were also present, including many of Indian-origin and some who even donned jerseys with the names of both teams on them.
Vinay Manhass traveled from North Carolina especially for the game, wearing a hat that had the flags of the U.S. and India on it and carrying the U.S. flag. Manhass told USA TODAY that he's been living in the country for more than 30 years and while one part of him supports his home team, in today's game he was rooting for the U.S. to win.
"I'm so happy that cricket has finally made its way to the U.S.," Manhass said, adding that he's seeing interest in the sport rise among his American friends.
Several couples were also spotted in the crowds with one half of the couple donning the Indian team jersey and the other half wearing a U.S. cricket team jersey.
SeatGeek had earlier told USA TODAY that Wednesday's match is the second "most in-demand" match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, the first being India vs. Pakistan that was played on Sunday.
India won the toss and elected to bowl on the pitch that has proven to be inconsistent. However, the U.S. cricket team remained unfazed and confident after their back-to-back wins, presenting Indian players with a tough competition and racking up runs.
Despite the U.S. team's best efforts to contain India, including Silicon Valley sensation Saurabh Netravalkar dismissing their finest batsmen, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, early on in the game, the partnership between Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube proved to be fruitful for India and they were able to triumph over the U.S.
India also managed to sail past the U.S. after the team received a penalty of five runs for going past 60 seconds to start a new over three times in the innings. This new rule was recently introduced by the ICC.
Speaking after the match, Sharma said that he was proud of Yadav and Dube for staying calm and building their partnership and carrying the team to the end of the match. He also appreciated his team's bowlers, especially Man of the Match Arshdeep Singh for providing the team a "perfect start" and dismissing the opening batsmen.
Vice captain Aaron Jones, who took over captaining duties for the match, as captain Monank Patel recovers from an injury, said he is proud of his bowlers for "taking the game close" and that it was "pleasing to see."
Jones said the team will have a few meetings to prep and will then "go hard against Ireland," in their next match.
The U.S. will be playing against Ireland in their next game on Friday, June 14 at the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida.
India, meanwhile, will be facing Canada in their next match on Saturday, June 15 at the same venue.
The Playing XI for the U.S. includes:
India's squad includes:
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.
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