‘First-of-its-kind’ cricket stadium in New York hosts its first match: See photos

New York’s brand new modular cricket stadium, constructed specially for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, is pitch perfect and shining.

The Nassau County Cricket Stadium on Long Island, New York hosted its first official match of the tournament Monday between 2014 champions Sri Lanka and South Africa. South Africa won the match by 6 wickets.

India and Bangladesh had inaugurated the stadium over the weekend with a warm-up match Saturday, which India won by 60 runs.

The stadium will also host the hotly anticipated clash between Pakistan and India on June 9.

Earlier in May, the ICC and Nassau County officials had commemorated the completion of the stadium with Olympic gold medalist and tournament ambassador Usain Bolt, members of the U.S. cricket team, cricket legends and New York sports stars.

Among those present at the unveiling of the stadium were U.S. cricketers Corey Anderson and Monank Patel, West Indies legend Sir Curtly Ambrose, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik and England’s Liam Plunkett. New York sports stars John Starks (NBA/New York Knicks), Elena Delle Donne (WNBA/USA), Bartolo Colon (MLB/New York Yankees-Mets), Victor Cruz (NFL/New York Giants) and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Fencing/USA) were also present at the occasion.

“To commemorate the milestone, all the special guests signed a giant cricket bat, which will remain at the venue for the eight matches being hosted at the event from June 3 – 12,” ICC had said in a statement.

See the full list: USA announces 15-member squad for 2024 T20 World Cup led by Monank Patel

Largest ever cricket stadium in the U.S.

Construction on the stadium began in January and took about 4 months to complete. The stadium features general admission stands on the east and west sides “which rise to more than 20 meters, and include views of the Manhattan skyline,” according to ICC. There are hospitality and media pavilions on the north and south ends. The north pavilion also features Cabana seats along with the Corner Club seats with a private party area.

“The world class 34,000-seater temporary stadium is the first-of-its-kind for international cricket and believed to be the largest ever constructed in the United States,” the ICC said.

‘We can’t wait’: Timelapse video shows New York cricket stadium inching closer to completion

Four drop-in pitches, nurtured for the event in Florida, were transported over a 1,000-miles to New York, where they were installed by a crane into the venue, as per the ICC.

“The new stadium is going to be a fantastic place to watch from,” Olympic gold medalist and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador Bolt had said in a statement. “It’s very enclosed and you feel very close to the action. I can imagine it will be full of energy.”

Nassau County Cricket Stadium match schedule

The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium will host the following matches:

• June 3: Sri Lanka vs. South Africa

• June 5: India vs. Ireland

• June 7: Netherlands vs. South Africa

• June 9: India vs. Pakistan

• June 10: South Africa vs. Bangladesh

• June 11: Pakistan vs. Canada

• June 12: USA vs. India

How to get tickets to 2024 T20 World Cup

General tickets for the 2024 T20 World Cup are available to purchase on a first-come-first-serve basis on the tournament website. While tickets for popular matches sold out almost immediately when the sales went live on Feb. 22, tickets for multiple matches in the U.S. are still available.

Tickets for some of the sold-out matches are also available for purchase on third-party websites such as Stubhub, Tickets Center and SeatGeek for varying prices.

What to know about the 2024 T20 World Cup

The 9th edition of the T20 World Cup began on June 1 with a thrilling match between debutants Canada and the U.S., which was won by the U.S. Fifty-five matches will be played across nine cities – three in the U.S. and six in the Caribbean – according to the ICC. While the opening match was in Texas, the grand finale will be played on June 29 in Barbados. The semi-final and qualifier matches will take place in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana in the Caribbean.

Cricket in America: Why the 2024 T20 World Cup could be a ‘milestone for the sport’

England enters the year as defending champions, having beaten Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup final in Melbourne.

CEO of the International Cricket Council Geoff Allardice, in an interview with USA TODAY, said the opportunity to bring one of the cricket council’s “showcase events to the U.S. for the first time is a milestone for the sport of cricket.”

“To be able to bring some of the biggest teams and the biggest matches to one of the biggest cities in the world and in the country with the biggest sports following and sports market in the world, I think, is a great opportunity for our sport,” Allardice said.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nassau County Cricket stadium hosts first T20 World Cup match: photos