This time,the stakes were higher after Babar Azam’s Pakistan – a sentence that sounds scarcely believable for any number of reasons. To advance to the Super 8 stage,finding a way to get over the top of Rohit Sharma’s men in a municipal park on Long Island was non-negotiable.
Making their defeat on Monday morning (AEST) worse was the opportunity they earned to turn things the other way. Sent in under thick cloud,with opening exchanges complicated by rain delays,India were reduced to 7-96 by Pakistan’s four-pronged pace attack by the time the sun came out. The tournament favourites were all out for 119,with Haris Rauf and Mohammad Amir each collecting two wickets in two balls. But on a surface that has lacked runs all week,that proved defendable.
It didn’t deserve to be – this quickly morphed into a classic capitulation by Pakistan. With eight overs to go,the ask was a run a ball with eight wickets in hand. After a wobble,that came down to 39 from 36 balls with six wickets remaining. At one stage,the WinViz probability metric got up to 92 per cent for the chasers. Yet,as often happens when it comes to these fixtures,the pressure did for Pakistan.
Why the set man Mohammad Rizwan tried to pop the first ball of a new Jasprit Bumrah spell over midwicket and onto the moon,only to lose his off stump,is a question he’ll need a long time to answer – it proved defining. Getting 21 from 12 balls shouldn’t daunt but it did,with Bumrah unhittable in the penultimate over before Arshdeep Singh closed it out. India leave their neighbours devastated once again,six runs the margin.
Compelling as this low-scoring gem was for those who need no convincing about cricket,the main game for those running the sport is the extent to which the most-watched-match-ever™ could help with the goal that artists have strived to achieve for a century:making it big in the USA.
Rizwan will struggle to explain his dismissal for a long time.AP
In a nation with such a crammed sporting schedule,is there room for one more? It’s an unanswerable question,but this World Cup is all about having a crack. “We’re in the Big Apple!” roared Ravi Shastri at the toss. Which by strict geography is not true,but the New York factor has been important in lending credibility to this enterprise. Make it there,make it anywhere.
When the trophy is taken by helicopter with Yuvraj Singh from the ground in Nassau County to Boston Gardens for presentation at the NBA Finals,the success will be assessed in social media metrics:their last collaboration netted 30 million views. The cross-sport push extends to those invited,including a couple of NFL types and,a Frenchman en route to becoming one of the best basketballers on earth. The mission is obvious,to get the story taken to places it has never had the chance to resonate before.
An American cricket record crowd of 34,028 piled into the pop-up stadium. Why have one giant temporary stand when you can have three? As ever when these nations play,that’s a simple matter of demand. Sure,it might’ve cost $US30 million ($45.5 million) to erect this ground for eight days of action before it is torn down next week,but a staggering $US20 million was brought in through the gate alone. Those in the poshest seats dished out 10 grand for the luxury. For punters trying to jag a ticket via resale markets,it was a four-figure investment. There were thousands more at a “viewing party” outside the stadium.
India fans celebrate at a viewing party in New York during the World Cup clash with Pakistan.AP
Being America,security was as intense as it was immense – local officials held an earnest and most unnecessary press conference during the week to tell the world all about it. But this belies the fact that these matches are a celebration for those in the stands. There’s no fan segregation here and the players get along – they go out of their way to show us that on social media,in what may be a subtle point to those who run their countries and the game within them.
But governance and the inequities of the game at large wait for another day. This was an afternoon about lifting the eyes and looking forward – specifically to the Los Angeles Olympics in four years,where If they can crack the code and make cricket work here,the day India and Pakistan duked it out in the suburbs will be the moment that made anything feel possible,even for the most cynical.
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