India vs Pakistan, World Cup 2023: Rivals, yes. Rivalry, no
India's World Cup record means they will fancy their chances at Ahmedabad but one can never count out the inconsistently dangerous Pakistan
What makes a rivalry great... truly great? Some sniping, some bad blood, the setting, the stakes, the match-ups, the narrative, the emotions, the anticipation. It might be all of them. Then again, it might be none of them because one might argue that these are all sideshows.
If the superstars are members of each other's fan clubs, how is, say, Babar Azam supposed to work up a good hatred for Virat Kohli? The games are serious and each one wants to win but great rivalries demand madness, some junoon (obsession).
The fascination of a tight game has always been deepened by the battle between the main actors. Too friendly and it becomes a bit of a technical battle. But when it gets personal, you get pulled into a void of sorts where everything else fades into the background. Players want to avoid this – they’ll tell you it is just a game – and they will want it to remain that way. But great rivalries are so much more.
The one thing that arguably makes a rivalry truly shine is sporting excellence; of the kind that etches a place in your memories... like the back foot extra cover drive by Sachin Tendulkar off Wasim Akram that started the carnage in 2003 or the Javed Miandad six in 1986 that neither Chetan Sharma nor India has been allowed to forget or Saleem Malik's 36-ball 72 in 1987 (way before T20s were even a blip in anyone's mind) or the Aamer Sohail versus Venkatesh Prasad face-off in 1996 or Hrishikesh Kanitkar's moment of glory in 1998 – when he sealed the win with a four off the penultimate ball.
Now, these are in no particular order because that is the nature of memory. Some things stay with you a lot longer; some remain more vivid while some, like most of the recent India-Pakistan matches, simply fade away.
India-Pakistan rivalry in ODIs can be divided into three phases. One, between 1978 and 1999, when the two countries played each other 78 times with Pakistan winning 47 matches. India won 27 and there were 4 no-results (NR).
Two, between 2000 and 2009 there were 40 matches and India started closing the gap, winning 18 games. Pakistan. with 22 wins, still had the edge but this was now a battle of equals.
But since the start of 2010, India and Pakistan have played 16 times, with India winning 11, Pakistan 4 and 1 NR. India are dominant just as Pakistan were in the first phase, and that takes a lot away from the rivalry.
Add India’s 7-0 record against Pakistan in ODI World Cups and you can tell that this is a rivalry that is desperately calling for a pick-me-up. It needs something to spark back to life. Inevitably, there’s going to be an evolution, but India have got it right. The same can't be said of Pakistan. It is now very much a rivalry driven by politics and not so much by sporting excellence.
Inconsistently dangerous
The level of antagonism between the teams seems to have diminished, BCCI’s economic might has no equal in world cricket and India haven't played in Pakistan for a long time and may not play there for a longer time. Yet, if there is something that pulls this trick together, it is the memories... and hope.
Pakistan have the talent. In Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, they have two players who will make it to virtually any playing XI. In Mohammad Rizwan, they have a cricketer with great heart. But it remains a mercurial outfit – one capable of great highs and greater lows.
The Indian team doesn't need a reminder of what this Pakistan team can do. In 2017, almost everyone picked Kohli's side to win the Champions Trophy final at the Oval, but Pakistan turned up and they won by 180 runs. It wasn't a great match but just showed how Pakistan can sometimes throw logic out of the window.
Mohammad Amir had produced a dazzling spell of bowling that had accounted for Rohit Sharma, Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan in that game. Pakistan will hope Shaheen can do the star turn on Saturday. But there are so many variables at play. It is never one thing.
The Indian team, on their part, will know that they need to focus on the cricket. If they concentrate on the game and cut out the noise, they have the consistency to be more than competitive.
That is easier said than done. Everyone will tell you that this game is the biggest you will ever play. And it gets to you. It even got to Tendulkar in 2003.
“Frankly, everyone was talking about the India-Pakistan game, literally 10 to 12 months before the World Cup started,” Tendulkar told Wisden Asia Cricket in 2003. “The build-up had reached such a level that when we got to South Africa, we kept getting phone calls telling us that, come what may, we had to win that game. All of us were very keyed up for it as a result. I spent sleepless nights before that – a sign of the pressure, and also a way of getting ready for the game.
“I do like it because it’s part of my preparation for a game. For 12-13 nights, I kept tossing and turning in my bed, thinking of the match. As it got closer, it became worse, and I just wanted to go to the middle and bat.”
A new spark
But in a game like this, psychology plays a huge role. Are you mentally up for it? Are you ready to shine in a crisis? Are you ready to seize the moment? Tendulkar had his own way of getting ready. For someone else, the trick might be to go into a shell and cut out the noise. But Pakistan skipper Azam hopes someone in his side takes the golden opportunity to become a hero.
“To be honest - yes, India-Pakistan match is big game – it is a high intensity game,” said Babar on the eve of the game. “I’ve just told them to give us the best opportunity – give us whatever best you have, which you have been doing. That’s our belief as a player, as a team – we will execute our plans. And believe in us – Ahmedabad is a big stadium and a lot of fans are coming. So, this is a golden opportunity for us to perform well in front of the fans and become heroes.”
For Rohit, the trick is to stay focussed on the job at hand.
“I have said this many times, that for us tomorrow’s match is a match against the opposition. We will see that match the same way we have seen the last two matches and the upcoming matches. There is no need to think more. We will prepare the way we prepare for every game. The message will be the same for all the boys. There is no need to do anything else.”
If only it were that simple. If only it were just a game...
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