ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK: India, Pakistan 'at war'! But this time it's cricket

The air will be thick with emotion as the two countries strive to hold their collective breath and brace for a feisty battle (Pic: AFP)

ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK: Indian fans prepared themselves for the most decent night's sleep on Wednesday before being engulfed by the cocktail of emotion that runs deep in every India-Pakistan showdown. And while confidence is sky-high that the Men in Blue will return triumphant at Motera, a few late jitters were evident in the usually ‘solidly chauvinistic' media.

India boast a 7-0 record over Pakistan in World Cups despite the latter having a healthy 73-56 overall advantage since their first ODI clash back in 1978. And yet, there is every reason to believe that the Babars, Afridis, and Rizwans could break free of India's World Cup stranglehold on Saturday.

Two sides, with tinges of blue against green.

The air will be thick with emotion as the two countries strive to hold their collective breath and brace for a feisty battle. And while the cross-border neighbours take the field representing the crest imprinted on their jerseys, it is the same crest that will set our emotions gasping for breath. Measured by the numbers who are genuinely affected by it, Saturday's encounter can go on to claim to be a continuation of the world's greatest sporting rivalry.

It is as if all the feelings of the Manchester derby in European soccer and England vs Australia in Ashes had been distilled and deepened with an extra layer of hostile geopolitics and the passions of about 1.4 billion people.

Come Saturday, there will be glimpses of how much the ultimate Asian cricket derby means everywhere in India, and throughout Pakistan, too.

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It will not essentially be limited to the sight of flags tied to public transports or even hung from windows. Nor the sound of countless conversations in classrooms and restaurants, all of them in anticipation of its outcome. Nor the spirited headlines in newspapers or the high-pitched voices crackling through television debate shows, revealing that drones have been deployed near the venue to keep an eye on anti-social elements, or that the police are on hunt for illegal resale of tickets, with prices reportedly rising as high as 40-50 lakh INR.

Perhaps, more than anything else, it will once again stir the raw emotion that is often passed among generations. And with that, comes an uncanny element of fear that most loyalists are familiar with. The fear of the realisation that your team is not as good as the other team. Fear of the first wicket. Fear that your team will not step up. Fear of the ridicule you will receive by the fans of the other team in and outside the stadium. Fear that your team could let you down and ultimately, the fear that your team will lose. But remember, ‘darr ke aage jeet hain!'