All roads lead to New York this weekend as neighbors and archrivals Pakistan and India face off in a showdown that International Cricket Council CEO Geoff Allardice called “one of the greatest international sporting rivalries in the world of sport.”
Sunday’s match will be the first time the two neighboring nations will play against each other in the U.S., which is co-hosting the T20 World Cup for the first time. A brand-new 34,000-seat modular stadium was constructed especially for the T20 World Cup 2024 in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. (The tournament kicked off in Dallas last Saturday with an opening match between the United States and Canada that the U.S. won.)
Both India and Pakistan have played one match since the tournament began. While India won their first match against Ireland on Wednesday, Pakistan lost to the U.S. on Thursday in the first real upset of the tournament.
The two nations have also each won the T20 World Cup once: India won the inaugural tournament in 2007 and Pakistan took home the trophy in 2009.
“For those Americans discovering the tournament, they should know that Pakistan’s game against India is like our Super Bowl,” tournament ambassador and former captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team Shahid Afridi wrote in a column for ICC. “I used to absolutely love playing India and I really believe it is the biggest rivalry in sport.”
Afridi likened the India-Pakistan rivalry to the one between Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, writing: “Against India, it is about handling the pressure of the occasion. There is so much talent in both teams, they just need to put it together on the day.”
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Here’s everything you need to know about the Pakistan vs. India match during the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the start time, players and how to watch.
The hotly anticipated match between Pakistan and India was scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 9. However, rain delayed the match pushing the start time to 11:20 a.m. Another round of showers just a few minutes after the match began further delayed the match. The match is set to resume at 12:00 p.m. ET.
A T20 World Cup match lasts for approximately three hours and 20 minutes, on average, according to the ICC, including both innings and the innings break.
The match between India and Pakistan will take place at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Long Island, New York, about 30 miles east of downtown Manhattan. Since the tournament began, the pitch and ground has faced criticism from experts and players over its conditions. The ICC, in a statement, said that they recognize “that the pitches used so far have not played as consistently” as they would have wanted.
However, they said that their “world-class grounds team have been working hard to remedy the situation and deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches.”
General tickets for the match between Pakistan and India sold out almost immediately on the official tournament website when the sales went live in February. However, a limited number of seats are available in the Diamond Club for $10,000 and Premium Club Lounge for $2,500.
Tickets for the match between India and Pakistan are currently mostly available for purchase on third-party websites such as Stubhub and SeatGeek for varying prices.
The lowest listed price for a single ticket on any of those resellers was around $800 before fees as of Friday afternoon.
SeatGeek told USA TODAY that the average resale ticket price for the India vs. Pakistan game is $1,366, “nearly five times more” than the next most in-demand match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, which is U.S. vs. India on June 12.
SeatGeek said Thursday evening that they have “seen some ticket sales hit approximately $2,400 for premier seat locations within the front row,” to date.
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The match can be streamed exclusively on WillowTV, which is also available via streamers like Fubo and Sling.
Fans can also stream the game across devices on the Cricbuzz app, while the live score will be available to view on the Cricbuzz website.
Scorecards, match highlights and behind-the-scenes footage will also be available for fans to view on ICC.tv. Live radio commentary will be available from BBC on the ICC website and app.
How to watch Pakistan vs. India: Click here to sign up for a free trial to watch live cricket matches
To celebrate the event and give fans across the world an opportunity to participate in the match, the ICC has set up fan parks in five different countries, including the U.S.
“The fan parks will have live entertainment including DJs, as well as food and drink outlets, cricket ambassadors and family activities, making it an experience not to be missed for fans across the globe,” ICC says about the fan parks.
In the U.S., Pakistan vs. India will be streamed live at fan parks at the following locations:
The Pakistan Playing XI include:
The Pakistan team lists no reserve players.
India’s Playing XI includes:
Reserve players include:
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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.
