The India-Pakistan rivalry is a spectacle of world cricket

The first Asia Cup clash between the two nations may have ended with an anti-climax, but there is much to look forward to.

Of all the protagonists that were expected to take centre-stage for the India vs Pakistan grand clash at the Asia Cup including the likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, the least desired one ended up writing the headlines for the game. The rain gods had the last laugh and a clash that promised so much and carried a steely example of tearaway pace-bowling along with a resolute comeback with the bat got washed out.

Although the two captains in the opposite dugouts had to share the points because the weather didn’t allow for a second innings to take place, deep down, Rohit Sharma would’ve been well aware that the Men in Blue got off lightly.

Pegged down at 66/4 at one stage with Afridi doing his thing, an incredible resurgence co-authored by Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan brought the Indian innings to a respectable stage before the collapse of the tail. 266 never looked imposing enough to defend against Babar and co and common sense suggests that the washout was obviously a beneficial result for India.

Even as the captains and the big players downplay the prospect of an India-Pakistan fixture as being ‘just another game,’ the honest truth is that it has never been one in the first place! Ask the likes of Wasim Akram, Sachin Tendulkar, Imran Khan, Gautam Gambhir and the retired legends are in a better position to paint a more complete picture of the magnitude of the rivalry.

It can make or break careers and Akram, the Sultan of Swing even wrote in his memoir that ‘life is sour for the loser’ in an India-Pakistan game.

The day of October 16, 1952 may have been fairly uneventful for the world of cricket but unbeknownst to lovers of the sport, the first seeds were planted for the rivalry that would shape cricket in the late 20^th and 21^st century.

It was Day 1 of the first Test match between the two neighbouring nations as Pakistan had only recently received their status as Test-playing nation. Giants like Lala Amarnath, Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Hazare and Polly Umrigar lined up for India on the field in New Delhi while Pakistan were led by the likes of Hanif Mohammed and Amir Elahi.

In the seven decades since then, the matches between the two teams have been rife with controversial umpiring, spectacular batting and bowling performances, heated exchanges and scuffles, lazy field work, intense fan interest and jingoism. Over the last few years, the India-Pakistan cricket game has proven to be a microcosm of the diplomatic rivalry and the bitter geo-political tensions and differences that exist between the two countries.

As a result, the frequency of the bilateral meet between the two sides have almost always depended on the volatile relationship between the two nations. Between 1998 and 2008, the countries played 14 Test matches against each other. Meanwhile, they haven’t engaged in a bilateral meet following Pakistan’s tour of India in 2012/13 and the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks pretty much made their cricketing relationship non-existent.

These days, India and Pakistan players only meet each other on the field during ACC and ICC-organised tournaments. While bragging rights have always been associated with this game, it is perhaps because of the non-occurrence of this fixture that the pandemonium surrounding the games have only gotten bigger and bigger.

Ahead of the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan were the official hosts for the tournament this year. However, India’s refusal to send the team to Pakistan resulted in Sri Lanka co-hosting more games than Pakistan. The context of the fixture has also proven to be an arm-wrestling affair between the BCCI and PCB in recent years. Then there’s also the case of former cricketers from both countries coming up with controversial statements and feeding more fuel to the fire in their attempts of staying relevant.

Meanwhile, indecency and scapegoating on social media hits new lows as fans from both countries make life a miserable hell for the players that fail in this clash, treating the fixture as a pseudo-war.

The rain-washed Asia Cup encounter wasn’t the last meeting between the two nations. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will provide the boiling point backdrop as India and Pakistan renew their rivalry on the biggest stage of them all - the Cricket World Cup.

Tensions will rise high, fan interest has already peaked, heroes will emerge, and the loser will suffer - an India vs Pakistan game has always been this way and this way it is likely to always be.

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