Until June 12, the Eisenhower Park in New York's
Nassau County
was buzzing. The Indian team was in the city and played three matches at the pop-up stadium that was put together there as one of the three venues in the US to host the
T20 World Cup
. The excitement hit crescend on on June 9, when India played Pakistan. But in six weeks' time, the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium will have no trace of it on earth.
Soon after the venue hosted its last match, the India vs USA game on June 12, and the crowd left after having a T20 party, the sound of heavy machinary making its way to the venue reverbrated. By the evening, bulldozers had lined up outside the venue, waiting for orders to turn the 34,000-capacity pop-up stadium into flat ground once again.
T20 WORLD CUP: Schedule | Points Table
However, it will take about six weeks to remove the structure from its presence, after it was put together in 106 days leading up to the tournament that began on June 2.
The venue gave the local Indian fans and those who travelled from across the world memories forever, when Rohit Sharma's team made a remarkable comeback to beat Pakistan by six runs. Defending a mere 119, 'Player of the Match' Jasprit Bumrah's inspired three-wicket spell helped India restrict Pakistan to 113.
The low-scoring games at the venue made the drop-in pitches a subject of debate, with even the ICC admitting those to be not up to the expected standards. However, the pitches may have a better fate than the stadium.
"If they want to keep them (drop-in pitches) and handle the required maintenance, they can," an ICC official was quoted in a Cricbuzz report. In case the local authorities are not able to do that, the ICC will transport the pitches to a place where they can be utilized.
According the report, the prospect of the stadium hosting Major League Cricket (MLC) matches could not materialize after the tournament organizers and the franchises didn't show interest.
USA hosted 16 group-stage fixtures along with fellow tournament hosts West Indies.
Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas and the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Florida were the two other tournament venues in the US.
The second stage of the tournament, 'Super 8s', will see action shifting completely to the Caribbean islands, leading up to the final on June 29 in Barbados.
English (US) ·