A loud roar could be heard from the crowd at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium Saturday afternoon as India easily won the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup warm-up match against Bangladesh by 63 runs.
Another big thrill came when they caught a glimpse of the team’s superstar, Virat Kohli, who was not playing but joined the team on the field to shake hands at the end of the match.
That was the conclusion to the first part of a long day last weekend in which I decided to make the long trip by public transportation to the stadium in East Meadow, Long Island, to attend a practice game between the two participating teams. World Cup.
It was a brilliantly sunny day, in the 80s, a little hot for a T20 match, but otherwise perfect. The crowd – the majority of them pro-India and wearing blue uniforms, waving national flags – filled about a third of the seats, but the crowd was as large as the sold-out crowd. A small number of Bangladesh fans were also present there, wearing green and red.
Related:What NJ fans need to know before the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup kicks off
The ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup will be held throughout June, with matches in the Caribbean and — for the first time — in the United States. Eight of the 55 matches of the world’s second most popular sport will take place between Monday and June 12 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. The final will take place in Barbados on June 29.
But to get to East Meadow by transportation? Maybe it’s the same as Barbados, only without the blue waters and sandy beaches. This trip takes almost as long as a flight to the Caribbean.
Thinking about taking a trip? Read on for first-hand experience.
This is a travelogue of my experiences traveling to games.
Wake up early on Saturday morning
06:15 June 1 After writing several articles about the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup coming to the United States for the first time using a laptop in the comfort of a home office, the moment of truth has arrived — it’s time to venture out and do some things. field reporting.
After waking up at 5 a.m., I left my house in Jersey City more than an hour later and walked to the bus stop to catch the NJ Transit bus No. 80 to Journal Square Transportation Station to catch the PATH train to Manhattan. According to Google Maps, the journey to the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, where several T20 World Cup matches will be played, takes more than three hours. Traveling by car is easier, but what’s the fun in it?
While on the bus, the keyword that works in the brain is “exercise”. Training trips to practice matches. And apparently, a training exercise was run for operations around this game.
06:55 25 minute bus ride to Journal Square. 19 minutes before the train to 33rd Street leaves. There was time to get a buttered roll to go with the banana and bottled water for breakfast. Eat quickly, then catch the train. The trip to Manhattan, like the bus trip to Jersey City, provided an opportunity to chronicle this story.
07:48 The PATH train arrives at the 33rd Street station. Strolling the city streets west toward Penn Station is once again a moment to enjoy a beautiful sunny day that will warm to 80 degrees by game time at 10:30. Too beautiful a day to work. So, does this work?
Go to the game
08:13 The Long Island Penn Railroad Station to Huntington train departs from Line 17. This is the third trip to the cricket game with a stop in Westbury. While waiting for info on which line the locomotive would be dropping from, the sticker shock of the $26 round trip cost was a bit surprising after the $1.60 bus fare and the $2.75 PATH train fare. It’s no one’s fault but this writer’s.
This station was also the first place where cricket fans watched the same match. Many wore blue Team India t-shirts.
On a train that made several stops in Queens and then Long Island, a trio of casually dressed cricket lovers sat in front of me.
Subhir Ghosh, 54, who works for Air India and lives in India’s largest city, Mumbai, got a day off to travel with his son, Aryan, 20, to the US where he is a student at the University of Massachusetts. Ghosh, his son and Ghosh’s co-worker, Pawal Singh, decide to go see their favorite team. He didn’t have time to stay in New York for the World Cup.
“Just this one because I have to go back tomorrow. I am quite fanatical about cricket, so I don’t miss an opportunity when I get to see something India is playing, I try to make it happen,” Ghosh said.
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He said he was surprised that the T20 World Cup was coming to the United States because he felt there weren’t many cricket fans here, apart from the South Asian community where they are most popular. He sees India, Australia, England and South Africa as the final four with India winning it all.
Aryan Ghosh said he wanted to go to a Cricket World Cup match because he was studying in the US when the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, played in the ODI format, or One Day International, took place last fall at home. native to India. Singh, who lives in New Delhi, said he felt “very lucky” to be able to attend.
09:03 The train arrives at Westbury. The participants were escorted to public transport buses which took them to the stadium after a 20-minute journey. Men and women, young and old, most Indian fans in blue uniforms waving the country’s national flag and others painting in official colors, some cheering for Bangladesh in green and red.
The match and after
2:00 pm India scored 182 runs while Bangladesh were held to 122. India’s star wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant led the run-getters with 53 runs while Bangladesh’s Mohammad Mahmudullah led with 40 runs.
After the match, Deep Bhatt and his neighbor Mahendra Chawal, who had come all the way from Edison in Central Jersey, waited to see their favorite player, Virat Kohli, who waved to them before going to the dressing room. Both of them felt that the 2.5 hour journey was not in vain.
“It’s tough coming all the way from New Jersey, but at the end of the day, we love cricket and we want to see our heroes,” Bhatt said.
Chawal called the warm-up matches the “best opportunity” to see their favorite teams in action.
“No one can beat him. We are sitting close to the players,” Chawal said. “We booked the tickets yesterday because we saw they weren’t sold and decided to go.”
They hope to watch one match – the biggest one, India vs. Pakistan – but that costs a lot of money.
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ricardokaul
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