Kolkata: An India versus Pakistan match is often more a psychological battle than a test of skills.
The pressure on these two teams, who are arch-rivals and neigbours, is huge.
Players try to soften the impact by trying to forget that it is a must-win match - but in a venue like Eden Gardens where 66,000 fans will be screaming at the top of their voices, it is not easy to handle. This is the scenario on the eve of the high-profile India-Pakistan match at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.
India are trying to find solace in the fact that Pakistan have never beaten them in a World Cup, while Pakistan are trying to strengthen their chances by reminding themselves that India has just lost badly to New Zealand.
So when Gulf News asked Waqar Younis, the coach of the Pakistan team, whether taking on India after their opponents’ defeat to New Zealand was better than when they were on a winning spree recently, Waqar said: “Yes it is an advantage that you are going to get.
“That is what I am trying to explain over here, that they (Indians) have lost the last game, they must be worried that they can go out (of the tournament), that’s a huge worry when you are playing in your own country in such a huge tournament.”
And Waqar piled on the pressure even more.
“I am sure that they are feeling the heat,” he added.
“It is an added pressure on them, not on us. And in Kolkata, as I said, we have played really well in the past, and we have won the last game.
“I think that the monkey is off our backs now, so hopefully we will deliver the goods.”
The Indians know that Pakistan are the most unpredictable team.
So when Gulf News asked India’s strike bowler Ravichandran Ashwin about their unpredictability, and if they have plans for individual players, Ashwin replied: “We are a team that believe in individual planning. We don’t sit together as such and cram a lot of stuff into each other’s heads. Everybody has a different plan. I for one, because a lot of you people may be knowing, don’t keep it simple. I plan quite a lot and I believe in that and it’s has given me lots of success in the past. That’s how I have played my cricket all along. About the rest they would go about doing their own preparations. But we don’t sit together and over-plan on everybody because that will eventually lead to a lot of confusion. We take it as easy as possible and the Pakistan game is something we will take even lighter.”
It seems that India do not want to think too much about Pakistan - nor even the fact that there is cross-border rivalry between the two.
And Pakistan coach Waqar is thinking on the same lines too.
“I think first of all, you have take it as a sport. Our rivalry is definitely there, there is a history between Pakistan and India, not only culturally but also there is a cricket history given how we have played each other for 50 years. No other game is watched as much as this one, so we should all cherish that and we should all feel proud about it,” said Waqar, who wants Pakistan to create history by beating India for the first time in a World Cup.
“History can change, too. We are confident, a little more this time because they can go out of the tournament also. That also goes as a plus for us. They will be under a lot of pressure. We have to take it positively. We have won the last match, so there are lot of things going in our favour, hopefully. Yes, there is no doubt that our history hasn’t been so good but history can always be changed.”
Ashwin stressed that his players are used to playing pressure games.
“I don’t think we really see a lot of pressure in this game. We are used to playing a lot of that for India. Every game that India plays is a pressure game as you can see (with) the amount of people (present) here (at the press conference). It’s just about 70 per cent of media people that are here for every game. We are pretty much used to it. It’s not about the pressure. I think we should be able to handle it. A game like this… more than who we are playing against, it’s the T20 World Cup and we have almost put ourselves in a position where we have to win every game from here. I think that’s more important and pertinent.”
