The Event for the ICC, T20 Cricket World-Cup 2021 is set to start off on October 23, 2021. However, the most anticipated contest will be between Pakistan vs India match which will be on October 24, 2021.
Usually, Matches are just matches on the surface but when it comes to Pakistan vs India and they face off each other. They do not remain only matches but are wrapped by many other things. India, Pakistan shared history of 70 plus years, their political tensions, recent fight offs, Pressures, hope, emotions of the populace of both countries, expectations of the millions of Cricket fans from all over the world.
According to Suresh Raina, “India vs Pakistan match can never be another regular match as surely there will be butterflies in the stomach”.
India Pakistan cricket is among one of the tense sports rivalries which date backs to 1947 as new countries emerged, got independence from the British rule but due to conflict which originated during the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two New Nations and bitter relations because of Indo-Pak Wars and the conflict of Kashmir led to the intense Cricket rivalry.
Players from the teams the two nations use to confront intense pressure to win and often are threatened by the outrageous reactions of the public in general in defeat. Extreme fan responses to defeats in the key matches have been recorded, with a limited level of disruptiveness. For Example in the World Cup of 1996, when Pakistan lost the match to India; Waseem Akram who was the captain at that time was stoned by the aggravated fans.
But these situations aren’t always like that, In many times Fans of both countries enjoy the matches, In the Champion’s Trophy in 2017, the atmosphere was were good and there was a moment even when a dance competition happened among fans of India and Pakistan.
Cricket is the most favorite and widely played sport after Football and hence also used as a political tool for bridging the gap in the diplomatic vacuum. But the Intense rivalry wasn’t always tense. Even during the peak times of conflict, Indian, Pakistani teams played cricket matches. Various arranged visits by both two sides have been dropped because of political Factors. In between 1962 to 1972, No cricket was played between the two nations because of two significant conflicts in 1965. But at the same time, The Heads of state utilized the opportunity to bridge gaps by exchanging Visits and allowing the cricket fans from both sides to travel to the other side for watching matches. The Semi-Final of the World-Cup in 2011 eased the tensions between India and Pakistan after the polarization due to the Mumbai assaults. Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh utilized this chance to welcome his Pakistan then PM Yousef Raza Gilani at Mohali for watching the Cricket match with him.
In terms of performance, Pakistan used to dominate cricket against India until 2007 on every format but after 2007 Things started to change. India got itself an International Brand “IPL” which attracted most of the international players and Sponsors towards itself and all eyes shifted to India rather than Pakistan. That was the time the Indian team improved a lot to be the best in the World.
Overall in T20 Pakistan never won any match from India. In 2007 and 2009, it lost both matches. In 2014, Match was canceled while in 2016 Pak again lost to India. Without any doubt, India has the World’s favorite team in the world and every player is one-man army and game Winner while the Pakistani team is bit weaker. But when it comes to Pak vs India Match much external factor count, Pressures from the crowd, if we look at the player to player performance, Pakistani has got the advantage in its recent squad by having Best solid openers Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan being top run scorer from the last 12 months, While having an experience factor of Shoaib Malik too. Indian team is one big factor missing, MS. Dhoni who was the most experienced player in their team. Pakistan has also an advantage of playing 36 T20s matches in UAE while India hasn’t played a single match so far and it will be the first time for India to take a field as a field in a t20 match in UAE.
There is surely going to be a lot of noise and tension in the air as matches are considered wars by the fans of both teams. India and Pakistan matches not only excite these two countries fans but in general overall cricket fans. In the 2019 World Cup when Australian cricketer Steve Smith was asked about which match is going exited the most. He replied with India vs Pakistan one.
Media channels play a big role in promoting and creating hype during matches. In many instances, previous players are called in TV shows to discuss the matches. In past TV advertisements of both countries also played a role. Star television included an Indian fan calling himself Pakistan’s “father”, alluding to India’s strength over their rivals. The Pakistani organization Jazz fought back by delivering an advert that did a parody of an Indian Pilot who was caught by Pakistani Forces in February. These activities create hype and attract the audiences, making the crowd more interested in these matches while it creates much commercial viability too. Tickets for the matches between India and Pakistan always remain high in demand. In the last 2019, World Cup over 800,000 applications were made for the match.
In Conclusion, Cricket has turned into a definitive trial of enthusiastic energy and dedication for millions of fans of India and Pakistan. On and off the pitches, cricket fans vent their passions against the opposite country.
by Umair.
