India Pakistan – A Match Made in New York

“Agar Gabbar ko koi hara Sakta hai to woh khud Gabbar”.

The iconic lines from Sholay went perfectly well for the Pakistan cricket team post their marquee clash at the Nassau county cricket stadium in Long Island New York – against India on June 9 2024.

The Jam Packed stadium was full with 34,028 fans seated in every corner chanting India India or Pakistan Zindabad.

Winning the toss Pakistan captain Babar Azam choose to Bowl – a great toss to win. India captain and opener Rohit started with a bang scoring 8 in first over and then rain played spoilsport to disrupt what was a magnificent start for India.

Are we even going to even have a game? Said one of the journalists seeing the overcast conditions at the start of the day.

What started off as a stop and start match due to rains, turned out to be a bad start for India. With Kohli and Rohit going back to the pavilion in the first 2 overs of the game. After which Rishabh Pant strung a partnership with Axar Patel to steady the ship when Naseem Shah bowled a beauty to dismiss Axar Patel.

Things were sought to have stabilized when wickets started falling in a flurry for India with Pant, Dubey and Jadeja going in a pack under 6 runs.

Arshdeep got to smell the leather with some fiery balls from Mohammed Amir who seemed to be on a hat trick ball dismissing Dubey and Jadeja but then got run out thanks to an amazing throw by Babar Azam.

The final nail in the coffin was hammered by Haris Rauf who dismissed Pandya & Bumrah to bundle India for paltry 119.

In the break Dil Dil Pakistan was in full flow all over the ground. And the spirit amongst the fans in green seemed very high. The sun had come up nice and easy which was going to help things for Pakistan.

The Pakistan innings started off to a flier with Babar Azam and Rizwan looking rock solid. Even though they had only a 26-run partnership, it set the tone for Pakistan innings. Things stabilized after 10 overs when Usman and Rizwan were batting.

But an arm ball from Axar Patel beat Usman Khan and got his wicket to give India some hope. Fakhar Zaman came next in to bat and started off with confidence to some blistering strokes, but eventually found the edge on a Hardik Pandya bouncer to take the team score to 73-3 putting the middle order to do all the fighting.

In came Imad Wasim – a strategic stroke of sorts to come before Shadab Khan and Iftekhar Ahmed. And at that point everyone thought the match was firmly in Pakistan’s grip. But some horrendous shot selection by Rizwan Ahmed at a Bumrah incoming delivery threw Pakistan in a frenzy. No one knew what was the reason for such a careless shot, but I guess hindsight is 20-20.

After Rizwan’s wicket and some excruciatingly accurate bowling by Bumrah and Co. Pakistan were left with 18 to chase with Arshdeep Singh bowling the last over. And eventually lost the game by 6 runs against India.

“This was Pakistan’s game to lose and they absolutely did,” one dejected Pakistani fan said. ” We had come all the way from Toronto to watch our team and this is what they do to us every time. Although Bumrah did play very well and holds the key for India. And that’s why India deserved to win”.

But the real winner of the Cricket Clash was Nassau county & New York.

On talking with County Executive Bruce Blakeman about the India Pakistan game he said – “It succeeded, my expectations. Remember the stadium is less than 120 days old. This is the kind of marketing and advertising that money can’t buy. It showcases what we can do here in Nassau County. We’ve had billionaires from all around the world here, who are loving our beaches, our golf courses, our museums, our restaurants, our shopping.. So, you don’t have to just go to Manhattan, you can stretch around here in Nassau County and hopefully you will buy something on the way home. Or at least fill your car with gas before you leave “.

If there was a Shark Tank pitching that needed to be done for the county, Mr Blakeman would do a fabulous job. So as the cliche goes in Cricket – win or lose Cricket is the real winner. In this instance, not just Cricket but also the City of New York was the real winner.