The world's second-most popular sport sometimes seems to be nearly invisible at Tufts. Last Saturday morning, more than 2 billion people from 220 countries worldwide tuned in to watch the Cricket World Cup Final that pitted India against Sri Lanka, marking the first final between two Asian nations. Yet the sport's popularity has yet to firmly entrench itself in America's — and Tufts' — sports scene.
But if you happened to wander by Barnum 104 between 5 a.m. and 2 p.m on Saturday, you would have found a different story. Cheering and chanting flooded from the room as upwards of 60 students, including many members of the Tufts Association of South Asians (TASA), flocked together to watch the game that resulted in India's first championship victory in the past 28 years.
"It was one of the most successful events of the year. It really brought together different types of people," President of TASA Ashish Malhotra, a senior, said. "I expected a strong international student turnout, but I was pleasantly surprised by many of the Indian-American students who came out."
Knowing that a certain niche of students was interested in watching the World Cup cricket matches, TASA decided to host an event to broadcast the games. Though many websites offered free live streaming of the matches, TASA bought a stream from Willow TV to avoid the possibility of the stream being disrupted.
Aside from a slight glitch at 11:32 a.m when the stream cut out for no more than a minute, the event went smoothly and boasted a turnout of both international and American students. Malhotra used the TASA e-list and word of mouth to publicize the event.
The crowd included both cricket experts and people new to the sport. Freshman Noha Ahmed, who previously knew nothing about the sport, decided to watch the game with TASA to see what all the hype was about.
"It was pretty exciting. I'm surprised by how much pride everyone has, even when they're not around their families," she said. "People were willing to wake up at five in the morning to watch — that's dedication."
But Ahmed admitted the game was not quite enthralling enough to convert her into a cricket follower.
"It's fun to be here in this great atmosphere. But I don't really know what's going on in the game," she said.
Even those unversed in cricket rules appreciated the exuberance felt by the Indian and Indian-American students as they watched Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a six to seal India's win by six wickets.
"It means a lot to the whole country. It's a release to a lot of people," junior Avinash Asthana said.
TASA also gathered on March 31 in the Hill Hall lounge to watch the India-Pakistan semifinal match. The game was particularly intense because of the contentious history between the two countries. In a rare gesture, the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh invited the Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani to watch the game with him in India.
Most people agree that the game helped to strengthen the relationship between the countries. "It brought the countries together," junior Muhammed Arham Shoukat said. "It's called ‘Cricket Diplomacy,' and it has worked every time in the past."
Like with the India-Sri Lanka game, students enjoyed an exciting viewing of the match. According to Malhotra, there were more people watching the stream of the Pakistan game due to the game's political nature and because more Tufts students hail from Pakistan than Sri Lanka. Those watching the game were so loud, he said, that at one point the Hill Hall Resident Director came out to complain and quiet them down.
Though India won the semifinal, many Pakistan fans, including Shoukat, also attended TASA's streaming of the India-Sri Lanka game.
"As a nation, we were proud of our team. It wasn't a huge setback. But most [Pakistan fans were] in favor of Sri Lanka [in the final]," he said, smiling. "Basically just India losing."
TASA has provided a warm environment for international cricket fans.
"I think this is the only place at Tufts where it makes me feel at home," Shoukat continued. "I've seen [cricket] games in India and in Boston, and it's the same atmosphere as [it was watching with TASA]. People are going at each other but laughing at the same time."
Malhotra echoed similar sentiments about the success of the events.
"These have been some of the most memorable times that some of us, myself included, have had at Tufts," he said. "There's so much excitement and pride, and everyone's in good spirits."
Whether that excitement will ever trickle into the entire student body at Tufts, though, is uncertain.
"I don't think so," Malhotra said. "Americans might not have big enough attention spans for a nine-hour game — which is just the short one-day version of cricket."
The article has been updated from its original version. The article incorrectly stated that the match took place last Saturday night and Sunday morning. In fact, it took place early Saturday morning. Also, the article misquoted senior Ashish Malhotra. The phrase, "Americans don't have big enough attention spans for a nine-hour game" should have read, "Americans might not have big enough attention spans for a nine-hour game."
