After hosting India’s four cricket games, including a warmup match against Bangladesh on June 1st, the New York portion of the T20 World Cup has come to an end. For the pop-up Stadium in Eisenhower, this means it’s time to be demolished. According to The Statesman, the project is expected to take about six weeks to complete, the de-construction started yesterday, June 12th, after the India-USA match. Once the stadium is gone, Eisenhower Park will again be available to the public
Multiple sources mentioned that the Eisenhower pop-up stadium, one of three venues in the U.S., has been the target of mass criticism. Based on The Statesman’s claims, this comes down to the stadium’s use of drop-in pitches, which led to high amounts of unpredictability during the games.
With a stadium that was able to hold 34,000 people, the NY portion of the T20 World Cup attracted a large crowd during the India vs Pakistan games. Based on The Statesman, the stadium had 10 drop-in pitches. Consisting of four for the main ground and six for the training facility in Cantiague Park, the pitches were prepared by Adelaide Turf International and, before being installed in NY, were maintained in Florida during the cold season.
Having hosted eight matches, the drop-in pitches resulted in unpredictable, dangerous bounces. The first two matches never went above 100. With these scores, criticism got so high that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had to release a statement acknowledging the inconsistency of the pitches.
The highest chase, which only reached 111 runs, was accomplished by India during their win over the U.S. on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Canada’s 137 runs against Ireland’s 7 was the highest total recorded and India defended a total of 119 against Pakistan.
Additionally, South Africa barely won against the Netherlands, chasing 103 runs and losing six wickets, later defending 113 runs against Bangladesh and winning by a margin of four runs.
With the NY games completed and the stadium being demolished, the second stage of the T20 World Cup, known as the Super 8, will soon start in the Caribbean islands. The finals, scheduled for June 29th, will be in Barbados.
