NEW YORK, Jun 08 (APP): While many Americans were unaware of their team’s historic victory against Pakistan in a Cricket World Cup match in Dallas, it was felt acutely in the land of the 1992 champions, The New York Times said in its comments on Thursday’s huge upset.
The newspaper’s headline read: ‘U.S. Scores Historic Cricket Win, but Only Pakistan Notices’.
“Many Americans were oblivious to the magnitude of their victory in Dallas,” the dispatch said, adding, “But it was felt acutely in the losing side’s cricket-mad nation. As fans woke up to the news, they began trying to digest what had happened, watching highlights from the match in the streets.”
“Fans were infuriated by their team’s poor showing,” wrote NYT correspondents Zia ur-Rehman and John Yoon from Karachi.
“This is unbelievable and embarrassing,” Jaffer Ahmed, a cricket fan told the Times, lamenting the defeat with friends. “How can we, with our cricketing history, lose to a country that doesn’t even have cricket in its DNA?”
Meanwhile, Pakistan is preparing for Sunday’s face off with its traditional rival — India — at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium near New York amid rain forecasts to interrupt game proceedings.
Tickets on the resale market are going for at least $800, with Indian Premier League (IPL) founder and former president Lalit Modi slamming the inflated prices.
The tournament “in the US is for game expansion & fan engagement, not a means to make profits on gate collections,” he said on X.
Beyond the Indian and Pakistani communities, the match is eagerly anticipated by immigrants from other South Asian countries where cricket is popular.