Venue : Mohali, India
Date : March 30th, 2011
How earnestly have we waited for this grand 'semi-finale'? This is the most-awaited, over-hyped match of the World-Cup, a conquest between two equals just to be fair to Pakistan. Both cricketing nations' teams nurture a burning desire to attain glory by not just defeating the opponent convincingly but batter and maul them so bad that the cuts and bruises of those inflicted wounds stay fresh till their next encounter. As jingoistic as I might sound, I take full liberty in calling this encounter a clash of cricketing titans whose sole aim is to win and win at any cost.
An India-Pakistan encounter has never managed to be just about the respective game or respective fora where these two countries have faced each other. Their representatives bring with themselves the overwhelming pressure of expectations to outperform each other taking a cue from the embarrassing situations they have gone through when they had to be content with the bad end of the stick. As cricketing (and war) records show, Pakistan has had to bite the humble pie far too many times taking a toll on its dwindling self-respect. Yes , SELF-RESPECT is what it is about. To hell with the ignorant souls who call today's Indo-Pak match a simple game of bat and ball where one will win and one will lose. This match has the capacity to make or break careers. Remember the 2003 WC league-stage encounter where Pakistan lost? The likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Rashid Latif - national heroes of those times - had to bid farewell to the game soon after their disgraceful loss to India. Such is the impact of this high-voltage game. A loss to Bangladesh is forgiven in this country, a shock defeat to Zimbabwe can be forgotten, a batting collapse against a weak West Indies is also normal BUT even a 'loss-like' situation against Pakistan is met with angry emotions and abusive rants against players irrespective of their past performances.
There is no doubt that India has done well to qualify for the semi-finals. But that in itself doesn't speak volumes of this hot-favorite side since Sri Lanka has already qualified for the finals with relative ease and Pakistan was not even expected to make the semi-final grade after a string of losses in bilateral ties and series of spot-fixing allegations on some of its top players. In all fairness, its Pakistan who deserves full credit for coming this far on the strength of sheer talent and strong leadership from skipper Shahid Afridi - the leading wicket-taker of the World Cup so far.
India, on the other hand, has relied too much on individual performances with Sachin and Yuvraj leading the batting charge and a lonely Zaheer Khan left to try all tricks with the ball. A miserable and clueless (but media-savvy) captain in Dhoni has further compounded India's worries. The league matches don't instill much confidence either, especially the drawn match with England and a characteristic batting collapse against South Africa - who are now already out of the World Cup courtesy New Zealand who in turn are heading home courtesy Sri Lanka. That gives me logical nightmares about a possible India-Sri Lanka clash in the finals but we will reserve that discussion for another day.
To add spice to the fun, the chhakka-panjaas (politicians) have decided to partake the glory and limelight of this encounter by making this match a bilateral political affair under the guise of cricket diplomacy or Cricketomacy. Never have I understood this irrational offer of friendship when the offending side continues to be an existential threat to us and has not even assured us of full co-operation in tackling terrorism; forget apologizing for the heinous acts (26/11) planned and financed from its soil. A weak-kneed, lameduck Prime Minister, for all his integrity and honesty summed together, still doesn't add up to the expectations of the young, vibrant and demanding population of his country. Cricket cannot and should not direct the national policies of our country against a rogue neighbour. A Shahid Afridi is welcome with open hearts but an Asif Ali Zardari or a Yousuf Raza Gilani deserve nothing less than chappals in crude Hindi. To have them over as state guests when families of those who died in the 26/11 carnage still await justice and co-operation from Pakistani courts in punishing the masterminds is a sad commentary on our foreign policy. I will rest my arguments on this restive issue for now.
Coming back to cricket, there is no doubt that people from both countries are already losing sleep thinking about this encounter and its aftermath. A brilliant display of sportsmanship, nerves of steel, strong and innovative leadership is what people expect to see in a span of 100 overs today. Hope its a match that raises the stakes for the finals, hope its a match that gifts the winning nation a day of festivities and celebration and the loser's a chance at introspection. And as much as I try to resist the die-hard fan inside me, hope it gives the God - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - his chance at making his 100th international century in style.
As the Master Blaster himself says and we all agree, "Beating Pakistan is always special because they are a tough team and we have a bit of a history regarding Pakistan."
Hope its a special day for India tomorrow.
Let the game begin!!
An India-Pakistan encounter has never managed to be just about the respective game or respective fora where these two countries have faced each other. Their representatives bring with themselves the overwhelming pressure of expectations to outperform each other taking a cue from the embarrassing situations they have gone through when they had to be content with the bad end of the stick. As cricketing (and war) records show, Pakistan has had to bite the humble pie far too many times taking a toll on its dwindling self-respect. Yes , SELF-RESPECT is what it is about. To hell with the ignorant souls who call today's Indo-Pak match a simple game of bat and ball where one will win and one will lose. This match has the capacity to make or break careers. Remember the 2003 WC league-stage encounter where Pakistan lost? The likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Rashid Latif - national heroes of those times - had to bid farewell to the game soon after their disgraceful loss to India. Such is the impact of this high-voltage game. A loss to Bangladesh is forgiven in this country, a shock defeat to Zimbabwe can be forgotten, a batting collapse against a weak West Indies is also normal BUT even a 'loss-like' situation against Pakistan is met with angry emotions and abusive rants against players irrespective of their past performances.
There is no doubt that India has done well to qualify for the semi-finals. But that in itself doesn't speak volumes of this hot-favorite side since Sri Lanka has already qualified for the finals with relative ease and Pakistan was not even expected to make the semi-final grade after a string of losses in bilateral ties and series of spot-fixing allegations on some of its top players. In all fairness, its Pakistan who deserves full credit for coming this far on the strength of sheer talent and strong leadership from skipper Shahid Afridi - the leading wicket-taker of the World Cup so far.
India, on the other hand, has relied too much on individual performances with Sachin and Yuvraj leading the batting charge and a lonely Zaheer Khan left to try all tricks with the ball. A miserable and clueless (but media-savvy) captain in Dhoni has further compounded India's worries. The league matches don't instill much confidence either, especially the drawn match with England and a characteristic batting collapse against South Africa - who are now already out of the World Cup courtesy New Zealand who in turn are heading home courtesy Sri Lanka. That gives me logical nightmares about a possible India-Sri Lanka clash in the finals but we will reserve that discussion for another day.
To add spice to the fun, the chhakka-panjaas (politicians) have decided to partake the glory and limelight of this encounter by making this match a bilateral political affair under the guise of cricket diplomacy or Cricketomacy. Never have I understood this irrational offer of friendship when the offending side continues to be an existential threat to us and has not even assured us of full co-operation in tackling terrorism; forget apologizing for the heinous acts (26/11) planned and financed from its soil. A weak-kneed, lameduck Prime Minister, for all his integrity and honesty summed together, still doesn't add up to the expectations of the young, vibrant and demanding population of his country. Cricket cannot and should not direct the national policies of our country against a rogue neighbour. A Shahid Afridi is welcome with open hearts but an Asif Ali Zardari or a Yousuf Raza Gilani deserve nothing less than chappals in crude Hindi. To have them over as state guests when families of those who died in the 26/11 carnage still await justice and co-operation from Pakistani courts in punishing the masterminds is a sad commentary on our foreign policy. I will rest my arguments on this restive issue for now.
Coming back to cricket, there is no doubt that people from both countries are already losing sleep thinking about this encounter and its aftermath. A brilliant display of sportsmanship, nerves of steel, strong and innovative leadership is what people expect to see in a span of 100 overs today. Hope its a match that raises the stakes for the finals, hope its a match that gifts the winning nation a day of festivities and celebration and the loser's a chance at introspection. And as much as I try to resist the die-hard fan inside me, hope it gives the God - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - his chance at making his 100th international century in style.
As the Master Blaster himself says and we all agree, "Beating Pakistan is always special because they are a tough team and we have a bit of a history regarding Pakistan."
Hope its a special day for India tomorrow.
Let the game begin!!
