GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — Grand Prairie Stadium hosted the nation's first-ever professional cricket match Thursday -- and it was electric.
Major League Cricket kicked off its inaugural season when the Texas Super Kings took on the Los Angeles Knight Riders in front of a sold-out stadium.
"Electrifying!" said fan Errol Eccles, who traveled from Houston for the match.
"It's cricket. It's in my blood," he continued. "I'm ready to go!"
The sport is already huge overseas in places like South Asia, South Africa and Australia. American fans now hope the league's presence will help improve the sport's popularity domestically.
"I knew cricket had the potential to be big [in the U.S,] but I didn’t expect it to be this big," a local cricket coach, Orlando Baker, told WFAA.
Several adults born in other countries who grew up playing cricket brought their children to the match.
"I was born in India, I love cricket, it's my favorite game," Arzan Mehta said.
He brought his children, Mehta said, hoping they would fall in love with the sport, too.
"For them it's the first-time experience. I can tell them, this is the sport I've been playing since my childhood, so they will see it and I hope they will enjoy it."
Several young cricket players, who've played for just a few years also attended the match with their parents.
"I hope to play for the United States sometime in my life," DJ Ramadorai told WFAA. "I think it's an inspiration, right? Seeing all these players play. I just feel really proud that I'm in Texas, and part of this team."