Opening day of the world cup saw one of the oldest rivalry in cricket between Australia and England. If that was not enough, the second day comes up with another spicy rivalry, match between India and Pakistan. Never sure of what goes inside the mind of cricketers playing these matches but the emotions ride high among the countrymen on both the sides.
Whenever there is a match between India and Pakistan in the world cup, every Indian becomes the statistician of repute and the statement "India has never lost a match against Pakistan in world cup" becomes a national statement. Whatever be the confidence when one utters that statement, deep within there is a fear that what if India lose this time and the record is broken. This would be the sixth encounter between the two teams in the 50-over world cup. I am not sure how much the above fact would motivate team India and how much it instills a fear in the individuals that they cannot afford to lose. Since I have not been in that situation, it is difficult for me to imagine.
On the other hand, for Pakistan they have already lost five times to India in the world cup and another loss will not make the statistic any worse. Even if we talk about the regular pressure that Pakistani players would be undergoing, the above fact may not play as much role in their performance as it would among Indians. Pakistan has nothing to lose except the match but for India it is not just the match to lose but a legacy.
Having said whatever I said above, this match in the context of the tournament is their first match. If we discard the historical baggage and just focus on the cricket part, both the teams do not display a great form. India on the one hand has not won anything on its tour in Australia (except against Afghanistan) whereas Pakistan lost their home ODI series to New Zealand, then the two match ODI series in New Zealand, in between the two tour matches. The only saving grace for Pakistan was winning the warm-up games. But Pakistan has another problem to worry about. There is no Umar Gul, no Junaid Khan and of course no Saeed Ajmal in their armory. If that was not enough, Mohammad Hafeez has also been ruled out. For India, Ishant, the most experienced in the bowling attack has been ruled out, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar still struggling with his fitness, Ravinder Jadeja and Rohit Sharma are coming back from injury. In such circumstances a WIN is more important for both the teams in the tournament opener, not to feed the emotions that are running around but to gain the much needed confidence to kick start their campaign, irrespective of what the history says.
From cricket fan perspective, I hope we see a good encounter tomorrow and from an Indian fan perspective, I wish that India wins ;).
Very well written. Perhaps a "The Hindu" columnist in the making ? Well, someone's got to replace Peter Roebuck !. Thoroughly enjoyed reading.
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