Anatomy of a World Cup Rivalry

Disclaimer: Due to the sheer amount of research required, I started writing this article a day before India played Australia in Motera. When I was half way through tearing this up and eating it, Yuvi and Raina saved the game for us. So, parts of this write-up have been re-constructed, though the original was much better. 

Make no mistake; there is nothing healthy about the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Fans don’t hug each other after a game saying “it’s not about winning, it is about playing”. When these two Cricketing giants square off against each other, there is no fooling around. Victory is sweeter than any other, and defeat is simply soul-crushing. And when they meet in a World Cup knock out, well, there is not a pacemaker in the world that can make a fan’s heart race any faster.

Ask any Indian or Pakistani, and they would take a victory in this game over the final any day of the week, and twice on a Wednesday.

The fact that these emotions bring out the best in both teams is a testament, to Cricket as a great game, and to this rivalry as one of the greatest ever. Players from both sides feed on this energy and almost each one of them has better averages against the other side than they do against the rest of the world. I think it would be mighty hard to find another sporting rivalry like this one….and yes, not even the English and the Australians can match this passion.

Consequently, India and Pakistan have produced some of the most sensational Cricket games in the past. The record though is heavily skewed in favor of India for World Cup meets. However, that fact is a source of anxiety, as it is of pride, because Indian fans fear the day when the law of averages might catch up. Here is a quick look at the instances when these teams have collided in World Cups to send unidentified terrestrial objects flying in all directions.

1992 Benson and Hedges World Cup, hosted in Australia and New Zealand
Incredibly, it took four editions of the World Cup spanning more than 16 years before India got to play Pakistan for the first time on the biggest stage of the game. Up until this point India and Pakistan had always played in opposite pools, and despite progressing to the knock out stages on five occasions combined, they had successfully avoided each other. The 92 World Cup, being the rebellious tournament that is was, had just one group. This meant that every team would play each other once to decide the top four that progress to the next round. Arguably one of the truest tests for a tournament, this World Cup produced some remarkable Cricket. Though India did not qualify beyond the round-robin stage, the only two victories that it accomplished included one over Pakistan. Needless to say, that was consolation enough for Indian fans. While the only other victory came against Zimbabwe, India scored a comprehensive victory against Pakistan by 43 runs in a fairly low scoring, though competitive back then, group stage match.

India 216/7 in 49 overs (Tendulkar 54, A. Jadeja 46, K. Dev 35; M. Ahmed 3/59; A. Javed 2/28)
Pakistan 173 all out (A. Sohail 62, J. Miandad 40; M. Prabhakar 2/22, Kapil Dev 2/30)

Pakistan’s slow over rate, as it would go on to repeat, reduced the game to 49 overs. Sachin picked up the Man of the Match award, a feat that he would go on to repeat as well, for scoring a half century and taking one wicket. Miandad and Kiran More should have received the ‘Best supporting Actors in a Comic role’ awards, but we are still waiting for ICC to approve that category. Pakistan had nervy moments through out the tournament, but under the dynamic leadership of Imran Khan, they eventually came against all odds to claim the championship title.

1996 ICC Cricket World Cup, hosted in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
 After the adventure down under, World Cup returned to the Indian sub-continent, with order restored to the format with two team-pools. Once again, India and Pakistan found home in separate groups, perhaps because this time they were destined for an encounter with much more at stake. As the Cricketing Gods conspired, India qualified third in its group with Pakistan qualifying second in theirs, to set up a quarter-final showdown in Bangalore. The match produced the intense drama that we have come to expect every time these teams go out on the field. This was the famous game where Sohail dispatched Prasad to the extra cover boundary only to point his bat at the bowler to add that extra humiliation. What happened next is Youtube history that every Indian fan has watched over and over. This was also arguably the first time Prasad uttered a swear word. It was a game where India scored 57 in the last 4 overs – a late carnage unheard of in those days - with Jadeja giving the stick to Waqar Younis of all bowlers. India went on to win the game comprehensively to make it two in two.

India 287/8 in 50 overs (N. Sidhu 93, A. Jadeja 45; M. Ahmed 2/56; W. Younis 2/67)
Pakistan 248/9 in 49 overs (A. Sohail 55, S. Anwar 48; V. Prasad 3/45; A. Kumble 3/48)

Almost 10 years after setting the “maximum sixes in a tournament record“, Sidhu claimed the Man of the Match award for his 93 at the top of the innings. The game was also notable for Pakistan being penalized an over again for slow over-rate, and for being the game when Miandad finally said Goodbye to One Day Cricket. The crowd at Bangalore, and the entire Cricketing world, were once again treated to Cricket as dramatic as it can be.

India went on to infamously lose to Sri Lanka in the semi-final at Eden Gardens – a game that the Calcutta crowd refused to see the end of. Sri Lanka taught the world that aggressive shots might be an option when the field is up, arguably changed Cricket to become what it is today, and went on to become the World Champions for the first time.

1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, hosted in England
Cricket World Cup returned to its home in 1999 with super sixes introduced for the first time. This format was never a friend of India’s, but produced some interesting Cricket all along. Once again, India and Pakistan were in separate groups, and shockingly England and Sri Lanka got knocked out from India’s group in the first round. While the Brits lost interest and moved on to other things, the expat population in England kept this tournament alive. Pakistan qualified top of their group, surprisingly registering their only loss to Bangladesh. India met Pakistan in a Super-Six game at Old Trafford and once again batted first. The game was again relatively low scoring, but comprehensively won by India.

India 227/6 in 50 overs (Dravid 61, Azhar 59, Tendulkar 45; W. Akram 2/27, A. Razzak 1/40)
Pakistan 180 all out in 45.3 overs (Inzamam 41; Prasad 5/27, J. Srinath 3/37)

Prasad picked up Man of the Match for picking up a fiver in the seaming Manchester conditions, and Pakistan once again fell to their age old nemesis on a World Cup stage. They did take solace in the fact that India never qualified beyond the Super Six stage (partially due to the Points Carried Forward rule), while Pakistan made it to the final. They eventually lost badly to Australia, but for the sub-continent fans, the match at Old Trafford was etched in our memories.

2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, hosted in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe
2003 brought the first World Cup to Africa, and it also was the first occasion when India and Pakistan found themselves in the same group in a two-group format. This time it was Pakistan’s turn to get knocked out in the first round, but not before they met India in an absolute cracker of a game. Given that it was a group stage match the stakes were lower, but one can never really have an India-Pakistan match up without razor edge tension. This was the first time that Pakistan batted first in a WC tie against India and Saeed Anwar produced one of the greatest Pakistani innings ever. His century was deflating and put a competitive 273 on the board. What followed is again, Youtube history.

Pakistan 273/7 in 50 overs (S. Anwar 101, Y. Khan 32; Zaheer Khan 2/46, A. Nehra 2/74)
India 276/4 in 45.4 overs (Tendulkar 98, Yuvraj 50, Dravid 44; W. Younis 2/71)

Tendulkar, as he was doing quite often back then, got out in the nervous 90s, but not before he produced one of his personal best in the World Cup history. To this day he recalls this inning as one of the most important ones he ever played, and deservedly picked up yet another Man of the Match award. Pakistan buckled under the relentless batting attack that India brought to the table and lost the game with more than 4 overs to spare.

This meeting was the last time these two sides met each other in a World Cup, because 2007 was quite a forgettable outing for both. And since I don’t quite recall what exactly transpired then, I shall now quickly and very smoothly move on to 2011.

2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, hosted in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
This year’s tournament presents us with the greatest India-Pakistan World Cup match. The only game that could top this one would be an India-Pakistan final, if we are lucky enough to see that some day.

Would this be another feather in India’s cap, or would Pakistan finally catch up with the numbers and hand us a WC defeat in our own backyard? Only time will tell. On paper though, India is looking pretty good. We are hitting form in all the right areas; we seem to be making the most of the already-limited bowling resources, while our batsmen have shared the workload nicely and most of them are looking in good nick. Pakistan on the other hand certainly brings a bowling attack that looks much better on paper, but a batting line up that is somewhat untested and a little shaky on either side of the Misbah-Younis dam in the middle. India would certainly want to get over that hump as soon in the innings as possible. Pakistan on the other hand would want to continue their consistent and relentless bowling attack to keep the Indian scoring in check.

The one thing that certainly stands out is the ability to handle pressure, where India has definitely fared better than Pakistan. Pakistan disintegrated grossly at the first sign of pressure when New Zealand brought the fight to them. India looks a little more battle-hardened than their Pakistani counterparts and should back themselves to be able fight back from the corner.

But as mentioned earlier, when these two sides collide, players feed on a whole other energy-reserve. It would be interesting to see how the younger players perform, because for the ones playing their first WC game against each other, they are about to witness pressure like they never imagined in their worst nightmares.

The entire Cricketing world waits, for arguably the greatest World Cup showdown in the history of the game.

For non-Cricket fans, this would be a good day to give this game a chance and convert!