- Sunday, September 08, 2024
Both teams were looking forward to getting some serious practice before launching their respective campaigns in the marquee tournament.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WHILE the ground will make its official debut on June 3 when South Africa and Sri Lanka will lock horns in the T20 World Cup, the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York will also be the centre of attention on Saturday (1) when former champions India will take on Bangladesh there in a practice game.
For the Bangladeshis, it will be a much-needed opportunity to practice ahead of their campaign in the marquee tournament starting against the Lankans on June 7, especially after their humiliating loss to the United States in a three-match series recently. India, on the other hand, will also try to get familiar with the situation in a country which is not known for hosting cricket matches, in the run-up to their opening game against Ireland on June 5.
The Men in Blue will play three of their group (A) fixtures at the same ground, including the high-voltage clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9.
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Captains of both India and Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma and Najmul Hossain Shanto, respectively, were more than impressed by the newly built venue which was inaugurated by famous Caribbean sprinter and the ambassador of the tournament, Usain Bolt on May 15.
“It’s unbelievable. I think it’s crazy,” Shanto said, according to an International Cricket Council news report.
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“I mean we all saw on the internet there was nothing (three months ago). Now it looks like a proper stadium and feels great.
“The Eastern grandstand (in particular), I didn’t expect it to be like this. I think it’s almost a proper stadium. The ground itself looks very good. It’s a proper cricket ground.
The venue has a seating capacity for 34,000 people while its turf was brought in from LandTek Group, which is involved with projects with major baseball and soccer teams of the US. The stadium’s drop-in turf square was curated by Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions in Florida. It arrived at the New York venue in several pieces in a 20-hour trip before being moved to the centre.
The Indian captain also praised the stadium and those who made the project successful.
“It looks beautiful. It’s quite an open ground. When we come here and play our first game, I just can’t wait to feel the atmosphere in the stadium,” Sharma said, according to the ICC report.
“It’s a decent capacity as well. Hopefully it’s gonna be a good one.”
He also said that his team was looking to assess the conditions since the players have not played there before.
“(We will) try and make the most of the conditions, get used to what it’s going to be like on June 5 when we play our first game. It’s just about getting into that rhythm of getting the feel of the ground, pitch and stuff like that,” he added.
India batter Virat Kohli, who did not travel to the US with the rest of the squad, reached there on Thursday (30) after a reported trip to London. It was still to be learned whether he would take part in Saturday’s game with Bangladesh.
