Another Sunday. Another ICC World Cup. Another India-Pakistan match. But with a difference. No chest-thumping, no drama, no smashing of television sets, no pledging of revenge for the last defeat. Instead, just a disclaimer of how different this India-Pakistan match is. Because it’s for the women. We haven’t been here before. And hence this surge of interest.
If a rivalry is defined every time by its last memories, then India-Pakistan in women’s cricket won’t exactly set your pulse racing. Like the men, the women’s team play each other only at ICC or continental tournaments. There is no bilateral history, no context of a friendship series nor a World Cup match coinciding with the Kargil War. India outmatch Pakistan in almost every aspect. They are more experienced, fitter and easily the stronger batting side. This is a once-in-a-generation side. There is no comparison really, considering India have won 10 out of 13 T20Is played against Pakistan so far.
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The numbers fade to that selfie though. One where Bismah Maroof’s six-month-old daughter Fatima stole the focus despite being surrounded by some of the most prominent female players of this generation—Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur among them. The bonhomie was unmissable. You could say one photo hyped the rivalry no match could have. But this is also a rivalry in its nascent stages, at a time women of the subcontinent are finally finding a foothold in the massive cricket ecosystem. It’s not coincidental perhaps that the Women’s Premier League and the Women's Pakistan Super League are coming to fruition almost at the same time. But that’s still a small start. If the geo-political tensions ever thaw, and that’s a big if, the men’s teams are likely to play, not the women’s.
{{/usCountry}}The numbers fade to that selfie though. One where Bismah Maroof’s six-month-old daughter Fatima stole the focus despite being surrounded by some of the most prominent female players of this generation—Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur among them. The bonhomie was unmissable. You could say one photo hyped the rivalry no match could have. But this is also a rivalry in its nascent stages, at a time women of the subcontinent are finally finding a foothold in the massive cricket ecosystem. It’s not coincidental perhaps that the Women’s Premier League and the Women's Pakistan Super League are coming to fruition almost at the same time. But that’s still a small start. If the geo-political tensions ever thaw, and that’s a big if, the men’s teams are likely to play, not the women’s.
{{/usCountry}}The International Cricket Council (ICC) are aware of the marketability of the tie though. Hence the Sunday prime time slot for what is both India and Pakistan’s first World Cup tie, a template repeated from the men’s tournaments. Interesting stats have been slipped in too. Like India’s World Cup losses to Pakistan in 2012 and 2016. And nothing formalises that rivalry like a little plugging from an India-Pakistan hero. Here’s Hrishikesh Kanitkar, India’s stand-in coach and the last-ball-four-hitter in the 1998 Independence Cup final in Dhaka, speaking on the rivalry.
"You want to be playing the strong teams, the arch-rivals if you can call them that," said Kanitkar on Saturday. "Few of them have done it in the past, few haven't. We are totally prepared for what happens, the atmosphere is good. Most of them have played Pakistan in the past, they know what can happen and what the atmosphere is like. One of the privileges of playing international cricket is you play matches like these. Everyone is looking forward to it."
Despite what Kanitkar might say, Pakistan are playing catch-up even though they beat India in the Asia Cup last year. India are too strong a side now, even without vice-captain Smriti Mandhana who is recovering from a finger injury. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who had a shoulder niggle, however, has been declared fit to play. Pakistan, on the other hand, are not guaranteed a level contest even if each of their playing eleven give their best game. It’s in this backdrop that the two teams meet, hoping to give new context to an already storied rivalry.