It has been twenty-three years and the saga of the victory delight
continues. India-Pakistan at the World Cup is not just a match, a lot more than
a ODI. Ask anyone on the streets, or Indians living in different parts of the
world, even a non-cricket fan will give his or her opinion on this encounter. Reactions,
plenty of them has ensured the hype continues till the time India meets its
neighbour next time in a World Cup. The hype, the tension and a series of
creative ads, all these provide excess baggage to what is supposed to be a scheduled
cricket match in a World Cup. So far, it isn't been that way and I am not sure
it will be normal keeping in mind the political relations we have. On any given
day, this dual on the cricket field makes headlines and nothing short of
victory would suffice for the supporters. Yes, it is a sport, there will be ups
and downs, etc, etc - but they all cease to exist on one's mind come match day.
Waking up at four in the morning after having slept for just
three hours was my way of getting ready to join the action that took place in Adelaide last Sunday. I was never up this early to watch a India-Pakistan match!
I boarded the first train of the Sunday morning to reach a place where the
match was being screened live - and I was not alone in this journey. This was
the sixth time India was playing Pakistan and each of those six encounters weren't the same,
expect that India managed to win in all of it. Every time India faced Pakistan
in a World Cup, my definition and understanding of the game of cricket had strengthened
and these six encounters also serves well for my metamorphosis as a cricket fan
and life in general.
A SCHOOL BOY'S RUSH HOURS
My first introduction to cricket World Cup coincided with
the first ever meeting of the arch-rivals India and Pakistan. A group encounter
in Sydney, the 1992 match was a day-night affair, and as a seven-year old, I
watched India win by bowling Pakistan out. The match being on a weekday, I only
witnessed the second innings and flashes of this first victory still remains
fresh in my memory. Probably, the win was the sole consolation for India's
campaign as they managed only two wins from their eight matches. Pakistan would
go on to win the World Cup. I took up cricket coaching lessons post the World
Cup and cricket was permanently engrained since that time.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT INDIA-PAKISTAN WAS ALL ABOUT
By the time the next World Cup began, India repeatedly found
it tough to get past Pakistan - remember the Friday evenings of Sharjah? However,
World Cup was a different ball game and the two teams lined up to face each
other in the quarterfinals stage in Bangalore, my home town. It was a Saturday
afternoon, and I was not fortunate to be on the ground unlike few of my cousins
and friends. Television was my solace and along with few other friends and
family members (who also faced my fate), we watched every ball, absorbed all
the drama that took place and cherished India's victory and with it, the
passage to the semi-finals. If the defeat at the hands of Srilanka was
embarrassing, the quarter-finals lose would have been unthinkable. The lose
against Srilanka was puzzling to me as I repeatedly pestered my father as to
what was happening! I was in tears and didn't have an idea as to why wickets
fell every five minutes.
THE TEENS AND THE PLAYING DAYS
I was in class ten, and the timings of England matches
suited my schedule. My classes post my summer holidays began just when the
Super six round had started. After a royal defeat at the hands of Australia,
the match against Pakistan in Manchester was a knock-out match for India. And
outside the grounds, tensions of different sorts loomed as the two countries
were engaged in a war in Kargil. While soldiers did their best, the attention
and pressure were on these two teams like never before. A defeat for Pakistan
was inconsequential - but the result was not just restricted to cricket. It was
winning a war and trust me, I cannot imagine what might have been the reaction
of fanatics if the result was anything but a victory. India didn't make it to
the final four while Pakistan were humbled by the Australian team in the
finals. This exit was overlooked as for most of the Indians, their world cup
was to defeat Pakistan and nothing else. But, like many of the cricket fans, I
was disappointed when India exited after the Super Six stage.
THE COLLEGE YEARS - FROM PLAYING TO MERE SUPPORTING
Four years later, World Cup moved to the African continent
for the first time and by this time I was in my first year of engineering. A
group of us gathered at a friend's place and lived through every over of the
game. While Anwar ambled his way and scored the first century for an
India-Pakistan encounter, Sachin Tendulkar breezed his way, demolishing the
trio of pace men, the Pakistan's backbone with disdain. This was attacking
batsmanship at its best, and people like me who witnessed it live can only
explain what each stroke coming out of Tendulkar's bat felt like. That was an
innings which had to be experienced as it happened, the feelings of watching it
now does not provide the same essence as it did on the evening of March 1st,
2003. India won the match and thereby made Pakistan difficult to qualify for
the next round. We took our bikes out and went on the streets to join the
victory parade! What a thrill, what an experience!
THE PROFESSIONAL
The year 2007 was an anti-climax as both India and Pakistan,
who on paper were assured of meeting in Super eights were out of the
tournaments at the group stage. I must admit, I was holidaying in Goa when both
the teams played their respective matches against Bangladesh (India) and
Ireland (Pakistan). I was earning by this time and had plans to also visit the Caribbean
islands, if India progressed further. If, only!
WORLD CUP WEDDING
I chose to work in the sports industry as a result of cricket.
If cricket had not fascinated me when I was about six, probably I would not
have pursued further in sports. As it turns out, I was in India and in the
middle of my wedding preparations when the World Cup 2011 returned to the
sub-continent after 15 years.
I was in Indore on the day of the semi-finals of the 2011
ICC World Cup. By this time, I was married and had experienced my
first World Cup match live on the ground. My flight back to Kochi was planned
so that we could catch the start of the game. Instead, there were issues with
the flight and I landed in Delhi, Hyderabad and finally in Kochi a good seven
hours later. By that time, I had missed Tendulkar's awkward 85, Sehwag's five
boundaries in an over and Wahab Riaz silencing the local crowd by getting
Yuvraj Singh out for a golden duck. At work, we had our TV screen on and work
took a back step as the entire working staff of the Kochi cricket stadium were
in front of a TV. We decided to get back to our hotel and alone in my hotel
room I saw the Pakistani resistance fading away. India won the match, Sachin
took his third MoM for India-Pakistan encounters, and India went on to win the
World Cup few days later. As a fan and a follower of Indian cricket, my dream
of watching India win the World Cup came true.
MOVING ON
Now I have just entered my 30's and I just had a long day
last Sunday - a day which saw Kohli scoring a hundred, a first for an Indian
(for India-Pakistan WC encounters). This match was a first without Sachin
Tendulkar and that is indicator of how long these encounters have been placed. Like
always, this encounter too started out as a match which both teams could win. I
am not sure whether the weight of those five defeats fell heavy on Pakistani
players; in my opinion after watching all the six encounters live, repeat and
highlights many times over, the only conclusion is - that India always managed
to be the better side come the D-day. There is no other explanation and for statistics,
they do not matter when the players from both sides start fresh on a different
day, at a new venue in a future tournament. This 6-0 in favour of India, I must
admit has been a joy simply because of the moments that connects various stages
of my life, a timeline or a milestone where I can reflect upon how cricket and
my life overall has been a series of love-hate
moments; how it has given me pleasure and pain; made me accept the outcomes
better; face the challenges and look forward to all those exciting things that
are yet to happen.
