ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, India vs Pakistan: War minus weapons

Cricket is extremely popular in India, Pakistan and matches go beyond sport.

Flashback to 1996, Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram, one of the greatest ever bowlers, received several death threats for not playing the quarter-final against India at Bangalore. Akram bore the brunt and on landing back in Pakistan was mercilessly grilled by the local media and was asked to swear on the Holy Koran that he had not sold himself to pull out of the key match.

Essays can be written on the aftermaths of Indo-Pakistan encounters and more often they are tragic; one fan even shot himself to death in 1996 after Pakistan’s defeat. The sentiments soar up during the World Cup clashes and we have headed to that time of the quadrennial event when the arch-rivals will clash in the mother of all cricket matches. The war in the cyberspace, mind games among the media camps and minor clashes between the fans have begun.

Cricket is extremely popular in both these countries but India-Pakistan matches go beyond sport. There’s no particular hatred for the individual opponent players, but on field on that day, nothing is as pleasurable as seeing the back of the opponents. It’s a match that affects everyone and every class.

Sid, an Indian student from New York, says, “Of course they [Pakistan]will lose again. 6-0 hoga! [India have won all five World Cup encounters against Pakistan]. They deserve to be under the ground. No competition!Kaha India udh ke Mars chala gaya, woh saley Patang hi udayenge. (Where India have flown to Mars, Pakistan will be happy flying kites)”

His best friend in New Jersey, where he lives, happens to be Kamran, a Pakistani! “Mauka toh ayega (We will surely get the chance),” says Kamran, referring to the Starsports commercial where a Pakistan fan is showing waiting for 23 years with crackers to burst but can’t do so as since 1992, in all World Cup encounters India have beaten Pakistan.

Sid taunts, “Tum mauka dhundo aur hum tumhe kar ke dikhayenge (You keep looking for chances and we will do it).” Kamran gives back, “Yes when we get the mauka (chance), I will burst those crackers up you’re a**.”

Friendly banters like these are harmless but in the online space there are missiles of abuses hurled at each other, ripping apart from history to religion and the torrid past of links between both the nations are repeated.

For Santosh Tiwary, a mason from Mumbai, the World Cup starts and ends with India’s opening encounter. He starts with the trademark cliché, “Kuch bhi ho bhai, Pakistan se nahi harna hai. (Be whatever it is, we shouldn’t lose to Pakistan).” On asking further he says that they are India’s enemies and points me to his carpenter friend (standing close to him with his) Rehman Sarkar and his family, who live in Vadala, and support Pakistan, as it’s a team comprising of Muslim players.  Rehman looking embarrassed immediately smiles and defends himself in his heavy Bengali accent, “Hom nahi dekhta hai who sob (I don’t watch matches).”

On asking the lady with him about Rehman, she blocks it off with a perfect front-foot defence in a deeper Bong style.“Woh bola na mera aadmi ki hum dekhta nohi. Woh dekh ke kya taka milega? (Didn’t my husband say he doesn’t watch? Will they pay us to watch?),” the lady replied, glaring at her husband’s co-worker Santosh.

My cabbie Mohammad bhai claims to have watched the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final live at Wankhede. He claims to be a native from Mohammad Kaif’s place and says he has played cricket at higher levels, however his Hindi has lost the Allahabadi touch and is heavily layered with Mumbai style.

“Chance kam lag raha hai isbar kyunki Zaheer bhai aur Yuvi paaji nahi hai. Yeh sab Mohit, Ishant wagera log bowler hai kya? Bas Pakistan ko harana mangta hai. (Chances are less this time because Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh aren’t there. Are Mohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma good bowlers? We just need to beat Pakistan.)” says Mohammad bhai as he ferries us through the Byculla region.

It’s a match that is anticipated and players feel the heat most. In fact, heroics in India-Pakistan matches will determine the cricketer’s position in a general fans hearts. Speaking from the Indian perspective, poor Chetan Sharma, who picked up the first ever hat-trick in a World Cup match, is still not forgiven for the last ball six he conceded against Pakistan’s Javed Miandad in the Austral-Asian cup.

Heroics against Pakistan have also made some names of international cricketers with modest record – immortals. Rajesh Chauhan’s last over six to win an ODI in Karachi in 1997 or Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s slog to seal the thriller in Independence Cup final in 1998 in Dhaka are some never forgotten moments.

Usually what does someone expect out of a great batsman like Sachin Tendulkar, when he receives a fast delivery way outside the off-stump. Nine out of 10 times in his career, he would whack it away for a four or six. He did the same to Shoaib Akhtar in 2003 encounter but it went on to be one of the moments of Indian cricket. Why? The whole world was watching and Akhtar ran-in fast and delivered a thunderbolt, the anxious hearts prayed, hoping the worst to not happen, and when that six came, the mood went berserk.

The last time when the sides met in a World Cup was in the semi-final of the last edition in Mohali. Prior to the game, cricket legend Viv Richards had called it, “the best war that can be fought … a war without weapons”.

And Sunday’s match at Adelaide is set to be the most watched cricket match ever, and one can expect a curfew in the subcontinent during the day. Though Virat Kohli has recently said that he will be treating this game like any other encounter, the added pressure of India-Pakistan matches can get the better of strongest of hearts and best of players. Ahead of the 2003 World Cup match between the sides, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly had then said, “One of these days, someone will have a heart attack.” And his own admission, even Tendulkar had been thinking about this match for more than a year.

Just skills won’t decide the outcome of the match, what will is the ability to tackle and absorb the pressure. Like players too, the fans support also differs for this encounter. Both India and Pakistan have abundant of talent when it comes to players, and the Indian cricket fans like their neighbours consider themselves as pundits in every sense. There have been millions of debates and discussions ahead of the World Cup, be it form, performance and selections, and every fan will have a remedy for the same.

But come Sunday, all the logics, reasons and analysis will go for a toss as both as passionate fans of both sides will enter a zone of intense nirvana and the chants that will reverberate will “Jeetega bhai jeetega” and then followed by their respective nation name.

(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer, strategist, entrepreneur,  philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)