Whether it’s a one-sided game or a nail-biting finish, people from both Pakistan and India get involved so much that sometimes it is just not cricket when these two teams meet!
Whenever or wherever we play against each other, fans from all age groups in our two cricket-mad countries forget what they have to do. They are simply glued to their television sets or watch the action on giant screens in the hope that their team will win.
The lucky ones have tickets to the Adelaide Oval for the upcoming contest in the World Cup on February 15, which is now just 30 days away. It was the first match of the mega event to be sold out, within hours of the tickets going up for sale.
I think the ICC did the right thing to showcase this iconic game early in the World Cup, instead of slotting it midway through the group stage. It will take some pressure off both the sides and they will concentrate more on their remaining pool matches.
I do believe that all matches in a World Cup deserve equal importance, but there are some contests that add extra pressure and stress on the players.
No matter what the opposing captains say, players have the pressure of more than a billion fans whenever they wear green or blue shirts.
What I would like to see is another exciting contest and, whoever wins in Adelaide, fans should treat it as a loss on the sporting field and nothing else. I would like to see the Pakistan versus India rivalry more on the cricketing field and the only way going forward is by improving our cricketing relations.
While it’s tough to pick a winner, Pakistan’s loss of Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal through injury and suspension, respectively, is a huge setback. Considering the depth in India’s batting lineup, with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, their big batting pillars, Umar and Saeed could have proved handy for Pakistan.
Without these two, I can now only hope that Mohammad Hafeez clears his retest as Pakistan need experienced bowlers against what is sure to be a highly experienced India batting lineup.
India’s recent 2-0 Test defeat in Australia will count for nothing in the defence of their World Cup title. In fact, they will be more acclimatised and have more knowhow of the pitches than the Pakistan team.
The India cricket board did its homework well by scheduling its team’s tour to Australia before the all-important event. Players need time to adjust to the conditions and pitches in countries like Australia and New Zealand, and the India team has grabbed that added advantage.
Remember, we also went to Australia in 1992 a month before the World Cup. We didn’t win a single warm-up or practice match, but the experience of playing on various pitches helped our players when it mattered most.
Pakistan haven’t played in Australia for quite some time now. Misbah-ul-Haq, Younus Khan, Shahid Afridi and Ahmad Shehzad need to adjust quickly in a short time.
We need big scores, keeping in mind the bowling resources we have and I feel nothing less than 300-325 could challenge India’s strong batting. In one-day cricket, not all of the top six batsmen have to score. What Pakistan should not forget is they need, at least, two of their top-order batsmen to score heavily and then the rest could chip in with 30s and 40s to give the scoreboard a solid look.
Pakistan should also forget the horror stats of having never beaten India in a World Cup match. In fact, what they should remember is that we lost against them in 1992 too, but it was us who lifted the World Cup trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan should not get sidetracked in case the result doesn’t go in their favour on February 15. The focus should be to win the World Cup.
I would love to see good gestures from players of both teams and send out a strong message around the world that we love to play against each other. I know the tempers could flare in the heat of the moment, but I do hope the captains will lead by example and there will be no nasty incidents on the field during the course of what is expected to be an engrossing battle between bat and ball.
In the end, one team has to win. There should be no hard feelings. I have been part of a number of India versus Pakistan matches played with tremendous intensity and emotions. Nobody likes to lose, but if you do lose, it won’t make you a worse player.
When I first toured India, I didn’t see any problems because we used to mix with their players and, similarly, when India toured Pakistan during my playing days, we had some fantastic times with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Bishen Singh Bedi. I would like to see more such things happen now between cricketers of our countries.
Neigbours will always remain neigbours and, by playing against each other in tournaments like the ICC Cricket World Cup, we can help in making our relationship even stronger. Sport is an ideal tool to unite people. Everything else will fall in place if we play against each other more often with lots of sportsmanship.
I don’t want to pick my winner of the February 15 contest. I just wish both sides a big good luck and whoever performs better on the day will be a well-deserved winner. The losing side should take the defeat gracefully and sportingly, and without any hard feelings.
— 2015 © ICC Development (International) Limited
