Staff Writer – Archi
It was yesterday once more as a galaxy of former cricket stars rolled back the times when the first of the three-match All Star cricket was played at a baseball stadium in New York on Saturday.
The chants of ‘Sachin, Sachin’ filled the air but Sachin Tendulkar could not trump Shane Warne’s magic as the Indian icon’s Blasters went down to the Australian legend’s Warriors. Tendulkar was the undisputed favourite for the largely Asian crowd but it was Warne, who weaved some old-time magic to lead his side to a six-wicket win.
Snacking on hot dogs and nachos, chewing on pretzels and quaffing beer, for many it was the first time in years they had watched live cricket in America. Set a target of 141, the Warriors romped home with 16 balls to spare after Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara hit 81 runs between them.
Shane Warne snared three wickets, including that of Tendulkar and the legendary West Indian Brian Lara. For the Blasters, Virender Sehwag hit the series’ first half-century which came off just 22 deliveries.
There were couples with babies, fathers with sons, and youths waving flags of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. There were glamorous women dressed in chic Pakistani shirts and skinny jeans, more sedate married women in dupattas. Overall, Tendulkar and Warne’s attempts to introduce cricket to the Americans worked quite well on debut. “The whole idea of Cricket All Stars is that, to try to get as many nations together to celebrate this. It was electrifying,” Tendulkar said.
“I thought it was fantastic, the atmosphere was amazing,” said Warne after the match. The music, crowd, atmosphere — it was nothing not to like. How could you not enjoy that experience today? It was fantastic,” added Warne.
Cricket USA All Stars – T20
The nearly 36,000 strong spectators erupted with a deafening roar as Tendulkar and Sehwag walked onto the field to begin their innings after Warne won the toss and decided to field first.
Tendulkar thanked the cheering crowd for the support, saying during the post-match presentation that “the first match has been really special. We thoroughly enjoyed being here. New York, you were brilliant. Houston and LA, you are going to find it difficult to match them.”
Addressing media in a post-match press conference, Tendulkar said, “For any sportsman the best thing one can do is to appreciate their performance and effort and that is what we all experienced today.”
Warne also voiced appreciation for the fans who had turned up to watch cricket in a baseball stadium. “We wanted to be competitive. There was some skillful batting and bowling and fielding out there. But we know they will come back hard in Houston. A lot of the guys have trained hard, they are proud people, they don’t want to be embarrassed and they were not today,” he said.
While the match was played competitively, the camaraderie between the players was visible as they laughed and cheered each other during the game.
The next match will be on November 11 in Houston.
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