Asia Cup 2023: India-Pakistan cricket match sans bitterness, but still big on drama

There was a time when, for edge, needle, drama, excitement and explosive entertainment, India vs Pakistan cricket was unrivalled. Yes, there was the Ashes which brought together old foes Australia and England. Yes, there was the trans-Tasman showdown where New Zealand tried their darndest to put it past their older siblings from across the sea. But India versus Pakistan, now, that was something else.

Beyond past acrimony, but sensational

Today, it might not be the bitterest rivalry even in Asia. That’s not because there has been any dip in intensity when these two wonderful cricketing nations square off. It’s just that while their matches are restricted to multi-team tournaments, others have stepped in to create rivalries of their own. These are more acrimonious than India-Pakistan ever used to be; Sri Lanka versus Bangladesh and Afghanistan versus Pakistan have become more tempestuous affairs.

But every time India and Pakistan ready to do battle, there is a certain tension, a sense of palpable anticipation that is impossible to miss.

India have met Pakistan 132 times in One-Day Internationals, winning 55 and losing 73. In the Asia Cup, though, they hold a 7-2 edge; they also have won the last three 50-over fixtures against their arch rivals, the last of them coming at the 2019 World Cup in Manchester. Yet, remarkably, in the 39-year history of the Asia Cup, these two teams have never met in a final. “Maybe this year then,” Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper, chuckled on Friday (September 1) evening, somewhat perplexed when asked if he could explain this anomaly.

Professionalism at play

Pakistan have already got their campaign in the 16th Asia Cup underway, with a commanding 238-run hammering of Nepal in Multan. India are late entrants to action, the Afghanistan of the six teams in the fray yet to play a match. Against Pakistan on Saturday at the beautiful Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, they will hope their 50-month wait in 50-over cricket for a tilt at the old foe will end in smiles and celebrations.

Friday evening was when India had their first training session since arriving in Pallekele on Wednesday. Barely half an hour into their stint on the practice pitches at the match venue’s outfield, Babar Azam’s Pakistan trooped in, several key members and head coach Mickey Arthur making a beeline towards the fresh surface for Saturday’s game. It was all perfectly business-like; the Indian players didn’t break stride to walk across and greet their counterparts and the Pakistanis respected the fact that their opponents were hard at work. Of course, they are sharing a hotel and would have already caught up with each other, but it was heartening to see the levels of professionalism displayed by both sets of individuals.

Fans line up to watch India, Pak lock horns

Initially prohibitively high ticket prices, since reduced drastically, might have discouraged several fans from attempting to fly out of India to soak in the action and revel in the beautiful sights and sounds that Sri Lanka has to offer. But there will be no shortage of Indian fans, come Saturday. One follower from Singapore was so put off by the inordinate delay in the release of tickets for the World Cup that, instead of taking a chance and hoping that things would fall in place, he has instead chosen to come over to Pallekele so that he can be guaranteed his place in the sun.

Two Bangladeshi fans, who landed up from Dhaka via Bengaluru to watch their countrymen’s five-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on Thursday, ditched original plans because they didn’t want to pass up the opportunity of watching India and Pakistan locking horns. This might be an old rivalry that may no longer be frequent, but it still commands compelling attention. Nothing will ever change that.

Match to see big guns in action

This match, indeed this tournament, is the beginning of the final run-in to the World Cup starting in Ahmedabad on October 5. So, while contextually it has its own value, it also has plenty more to offer. Pakistan, No. 1 in the world, wear a solidly consistent look with their exceptional pacers as their USP and Babar as the torchbearer of their batting. India, finally ably to summon all their big guns with the exception of Rishabh Pant (and KL Rahul for the first week), will aim towards that target over the next fortnight.

While Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf have been rightly eulogised, India aren’t lagging too far behind, a point Rohit was quick to make on Friday. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are as potent as any going in the world, though for obvious reasons, it is the first-named who will be the cynosure of all eyes. Long before he contracted a debilitating back injury, Bumrah had established himself as the spearhead of the Indian attack, the go-to man first for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, then Virat Kohli and later Rohit. His prolonged absence, post-surgery in March, ended in Ireland last month when he played in two Twenty20 Internationals, but this will be his first 50-over match of any ilk since July last year.

It's not just whether, or how well, Bumrah sends down his 10 overs that will be crucial. How he acquits himself in the field for the remaining 40 overs and, most importantly, how he pulls up after that will be of vital significance, given the imminence of the World Cup. For India to have entertain any hopes of making a strong pitch for the November 19 final, Bumrah’s presence is non-negotiable because few in the world are more capable of turning even a 50-over game around in a trice than the magician from Gujarat.

Shreyas Iyer will be another big name under the scanner after also undergoing back surgery like Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna. His excellent ODI numbers warrant an immediate walk back into the playing XI, and he will be keen to justify the faith as he returns to competitive cricket after eight months.

There are, expectedly, a multitude of other areas of interest, not least Rohit’s approach at the top of the tree – will he marry recent adventurism with greater circumspection? – and at what number Kohli will slot into. It’s to the class and experience of this wondrous duo that India will look to negate the Pakistani pace triumvirate. They haven’t disappointed in the past, but will history repeat itself?