Asia Cup 2023: Another chapter in India vs Pakistan rivalry

‘I have made it to 13 encounters, there was no way I could not have made it to this one. My wife and children are so hesitant, so I came here all by myself." Every time India plays Pakistan, 78-year-old Ramkrishna Lahiri turns up in the audience, donning his favourite eight-year-old Team India jersey. The cameras love a spectacle, and Lahiri makes sure he gives them one.

There are many others like him, as Saturday's feisty encounter promises to make its way to televisions in the most remote villages and flickering screens in the living rooms of a diaspora spread across different time zones.

"I do not follow cricket. But we bought a dozen India jerseys today as relatives will come over so we can enjoy the game together tomorrow. It will be on TV for the entire day. As a non-cricket fan, only India vs Pakistan games get me excited as it is a family gathering affair for us," admits Pramita Varma, a tech entrepreneur from Chennai.

Much like Varma, there still exists plenty of cricket atheists around, many of whom don't understand the game. The only time this aversion seemingly draws to an end is when India plays Pakistan. Call it patriotism or peer pressure, there is nothing quite like a match between the neighbours.

"It is just an addiction, like tea or coffee. (laughs) I won't miss it for anything," adds Lahiri. The clash on Saturday, the first 50-over game between the Asian cricketing giants in four years, comes nearly a month before the ICC Cricket Men's World Cup.

A skipper with an ultra-aggressive batting template and a master batter standing at the crossroads, trying to reinvent himself, will be eager to create a new narrative when India gets ready to settle scores with the familiar foes at the Pallekele stadium in Kandy. Beyond this match, there's a broader goal in mind: to solidify the core combination for the upcoming World Cup by the end of this tournament.

Geopolitical tension has almost entirely wiped out bilateral contests between the cross-border neighbours for more than a decade. In fact, this lack of regularity means that India vs Pakistan contests are held most often between ‘unfamiliar' foes rather than ‘familiar' ones, considering that one cannot implement too many strategies against an opposition whom a team only plays once or twice a year, but rather, expect the unexpected.

‘First of all, let us hope the match lives up to the top billing. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case on the big stage. So many predictions, and so many superstitions. Are Ind-Pak matches even exciting anymore? I don't think so," argues Sandeep Sukhija, who works in the Indian Army's insurance directorate. Sukhija's comments cannot be entirely shrugged off, blame it on the suffocating swirl of anticipation that precedes every such encounter.

Also Read: Can Pakistan solve the India riddle in the Asia Cup?

More often than not, these clashes have proved to be an anti-climax but the juxtaposing of the Playing XIs has long intrigued one's mind. While Pakistan is renowned for breeding mesmerising speedsters, India has long boasted masterful batsmen - the Gavaskars, the Tendulkars, and the Kohlis. Although the tables have turned slightly with India, now boasting arguably the world's best attack, bolstered by the return of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, are the firm favourites to continue their dominance over Pakistan even at the World Cup.

The Rohit-Shubman Gill pair has shown a lot of promise in recent times with its gung-ho approach and Virat Kohli at the top will be menacing with his all-round strokes. While Rohit, Kohli, or Hardik Pandya aren't the ones to forget the 2021 World Cup humiliation easily, the fact remains that the Men in Blue as a team looks slightly under-cooked this time around. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer had been out of action for months, and there is still no settled middle-order combination honestly. The star-studded top order will carry an extra burden of expectations on the shoulders - and how they handle Shaheen Shah Afridi's fierce pace in the Powerplay would dictate how the match will pan out.

Will India's old guard of Kohli and Rohit deliver? That remains a big question moving forward. A lot, however, will depend on how the trio of Shreyas Iyer, Ishan, and Hardik Pandya perform between overs 10 and 20. The trio with its explosive strength can perhaps take the Babar-led Pakistan attack to cleaners with designated finisher Ravindra Jadeja stepping in during times of crisis.

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But Babar Azam and Co. cannot be discounted altogether. After all, the side ascended to the summit of the one-day international rankings only a week ago and is rated at 113.483, surpassing Australia's 113.286 and India's 112.638. Riding high on confidence after having secured a clinical 59-run win over Afghanistan on Tuesday to sweep the ODI series, Pakistan trounced Nepal by 238 runs in the Asia Cup opener to further underline their credentials as cricket's ultimate wildcard.

‘I would definitely not be surprised if we are beaten tomorrow. The stakes are high, but there can always be a turnaround. They are a classy side and it's the ODIs, so fingers crossed. My friends would judge me, but supporting Pakistan doesn't make me any less of an Indian, right?! I can't wait to watch the game," asserts Sundeep Padnekar, a management consultant from Mumbai.

‘Simply for the love of cricket, nothing else,' he adds. A shift in the nature of fandom is overwhelming, and as Sundeep's idol Kohli also has been often heard saying, ‘it is just another game'. For some, it is. For others, not so much. While some might see it as a matter of ‘life and death', others will claim it is much more than that.

"If we lose to Australia, or England and New Zealand, it's fine. Even Bangladesh for that matter. But if we lose to Pakistan, it's like a sin. It is not just another game, it is something else. My WhatsApp goes mad every time there's an India-Pakistan game on," feels Nevin Jose, a communication professional from Delhi. "I won't really mind even if we do not win the Asia Cup as long as we are beating them."

As hypernationalism comes to the fore once more on Saturday, let us hope Sri Lanka's weather does not rudely intervene. Until then, keep watching the clouds!