The Citi Field crowd may not have been as big as the one at Nassau County Cricket Stadium, but a noisy and passionate atmosphere of 8,000 strong was on full display at the Coca-Cola Cricket Watch Party. 

By Peter Della Penna in Queens, New York (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
It might not have been the same as being in the actual Nassau County Stadium venue where India and Pakistan played a final-ball thriller on Sunday, but you’d have a hard time convincing the 8,000 fans who were a part of the Coca-Cola Watch Party at Citi Field that the experience was any less enjoyable.
 
With the New York Mets out of town playing the Philadelphia Phillies in London, the Mets threw open their doors on Sunday morning to invite cricket fans in for a different kind of experience than one usually gets in Flushing Meadows. The typical traffic from commercial airliners was still cruising overhead on their way to land at LaGuardia Airport, but those sounds were often drowned out by the throng of cricket fans who came out to watch the match broadcast on Citi Field’s 17,600 foot centerfield LED big screen TV. 
 
The Mets had previously announced that the event was sold out, with the event ticketed to gauge the expected turnout though there was no charge to reserve one of the thousands of seats available. Only a $40 parking charge was passed on to fans driving in, though the NYC Subway’s 7 train was also an option utilized by many who arrived on Sunday morning. However, the eventual attendance did not meet original expectations as Citi Field was at best at 20% capacity when the last fans filtered in through the turnstiles at the 41,800 seat venue. 
 
Prior to the match, the day had a genuine big event atmosphere. The Mets promo team brought out t-shirt guns to fire free merchandise into the crowd while concession stands were open from field level all the way to the upper deck to accommodate hungry fans with the usual ballpark fare of hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, hot pretzels, chicken strips and fries as well as an assortment of water, sports drinks, sodas and alcoholic beverages. 
 
However, following a rain delay after the first over of play, Citi Field staff took a decision to funnel all fans down from the upper deck and mezzanine levels onto the 100 sections at field level down the first and third base lines. Only fans who had purchased private suites for $500 in the 200 level of the stadium were allowed to remain where they were. The move wound up producing a far better atmosphere for the rest of the day because instead of fans scattered around in tiny clusters, the India fans were bundled together down the third base line and Pakistan fans down the first base line to create a vibrant back and forth atmosphere. 
 
“I wanted to come out here just to represent Pakistan in the diaspora,” said Abdullah Ahmad, originally from Westchester County, New York but now living in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. He came with Isha Iftikhar, originally from Ashburn, Virginia, but now living in Manhattan. “I grew up as a little kid watching cricket with my father. Being in the community, especially in New York, you’ve gotta represent. It’s amazing. The turnout is great. I’ve never seen a site where Citi Field is basically Wagah border. You see India over here and this is Lahore.”
 
At the innings break, fans were entertained by a surprise concert performance from Indian-Canadian rapper Tesher, who was joined by a group of backup dancers on top of the third base dugout in front of the Indian fan base. The 28-year-old singer, whose real name is Hitesh Sharma, sang several of his songs including the popular hit “Jalebi Baby.” The only hiccup came when the final song in his set spilled into the start of Pakistan’s chase, which resulted in his performance continuing to be shown on the centerfield videoboard while the match was shown on a much smaller screen above the right field upper deck seats, though normal programming resumed by the end of the first over. 
 
Pakistan fans were outnumbered 2 to 1 inside Citi Field and they made most of the noise through the first three-quarters of the day, but the majority Indian crowd sprang to life during Jasprit Bumrah’s match-winning spell. 
 
“If I can’t get tickets to watch that, then I’d rather come here for the atmosphere,” said Nish Mehta, 25, from Elmhurst in Queens, New York, who came with a group of 12 people that included her godfather, Jay Shah, 49, who is originally from Ahmedabad but now lives in Hicksville on Long Island. “Being first-generation, this is a way that I’m keeping in touch with the culture that has been passed down through generations. My parents are from India, but I’m born here. So I’m very grateful to be able to experience that and be able to still be in touch with my culture in such a great atmosphere and bring awareness to such an amazing sport that’s almost like a religion.”
 
Shah went to the India v Ireland match earlier in the week and has tickets to go with Mehta to the USA v India match on June 12. He says the atmosphere at the India v Ireland match was great and when he couldn’t get tickets to be inside Nassau County Stadium for the India v Pakistan match, coming to Citi Field was the next best thing.  
 
“It’s Citi Field, I’m a Mets fan anyway so this is a double plus to be here,” said Shah. “This is a great experience. It brings a new sports experience to New York in a bigger way than you can imagine. I play baseball, my son plays baseball. But cricket, I grew up watching and my father played. So just having it in our backyard is special.”
 
Though the majority of fans present were from in and around New York, the occasion drew fans from all over the country. Fans were interviewed who came from places well outside the city like New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Los Angeles. There were even some international visitors from Dublin, Ireland and Vancouver, British Columbia, showing what a historic opportunity it was for fans to access when tickets to get inside were no longer available. 
 
But some fans chose to come to Citi Field as their primary option too, believing that it was a better opportunity to bring a family group compared to the exorbitant prices charged for tickets at Nassau County Stadium.
 
“We could have gotten tickets [to go to Nassau County Stadium] but we wanted the whole family experience,” said Kuntal Avashia, who is originally from Ahmedabad, India but now lives in Garden City, New York on Long Island. After India’s six-run win, he walked outside the stadium and posed for pictures with his wife, Neha, and two sons – Tej, 8 and Arjun, 2 – in front of the old Shea Stadium Home Run Apple as well as the Tom Seaver Statue that now sit outside the home plate entrance to Citi Field, just one of many things that made the day memorable. “I wanted the kids there. I wanted my son to see the match and learn about cricket because he’s US born and learn our culture. We had my brother here from Secaucus, New Jersey. We had a group of 15 and we had the suite here, paying $500. It’s a good deal.”
 
Avashia said he went to the Ireland v India match earlier in the week, but tickets cost $140 and with no shade offered at Nassau County Stadium he felt it was not an ideal setup to bring young kids. But for what it would have cost him for three to four tickets to go to the India v Ireland match, he was able to bring his group of 15 people to Citi Field and have protection from both the rain and sun on the day as well as have access to a whole host of other amenities not offered at Nassau County Stadium. 
 
“This was way better because I got to do it with my kids,” Avashia said. “It would be too much for them sitting in the hot sun for three and a half hours. It was difficult for me sitting in the sun for three and a half hours. That and also not to mention I had access to restrooms very easily. We had elderly family, my parents and I got the kids. We had food access as well which was easy, we ordered into the suite and they brought the food to us. We had to pay for the food but we didn’t have to leave the suite to get it. I’d have to pay an arm and a leg over there [at Nassau County] for 15 people. I would say this was way better.”