India 5 Pakistan 0: Yeh Dil Mange More
An India-Pakistan cricket match is more than a contest. It's a test of patriotism and nationalism. Here's how an Indian fan measures out his life around such high-octane encounters.
Patriotism and nationalism aren't virtues we are born with. Those are instilled later. To my three-year old brother, every wicket or boundary needed to be cheered -- a shot well-played needed to be applauded. Having walked the earth for a few more years than him, I knew a Pakistan win couldn't be cheered. (World Cup Coverage)
A year later, the World Cup came to India and we made the semi-finals. But the Reliance Cup went by in a flash. As defending champions, India took on the best in the world and as far as I could comprehend from the reactions friends and family, we gave a reasonable account of ourselves. (Pakistan Ponder Options Ahead of India Clash)
And then in 1992, I started bleeding blue. Kerry Packer's pyjama dream had become a World Cup reality. And I must confess to this day, that remains my personal favourite as far the myriad hues of India's ODI blues go. My recollection of watching India in 1991-92 centered around the buzz generated by Sachin Tendulkar. (Misbah, Afridi Target First Win vs India)
On that long trip Down Under, I remember India losing but Indians marvelling at a 20-year old's batting prowess. Waking up at the crack of dawn to watch the Tests -- the quality of TV coverage -- Channel 9 to DD was a comparison between a mature Cognac and locally-brewed hooch. (India Ranked Second in ODIs Ahead of World Cup)
That almost endless tour culminated in more disappointment -- India's dismal performance at the World Cup. The only bright spark there was we beat Pakistan -- the team that eventually went on to be world champions. Oh! the sweet joy of our intrepid Mr More getting Miandad's goat, that Miandad who had so 'cruelly' hit a 6 off the last ball years earlier at Sharjah... (Waqar Hopes Younus Bounces Back to Form)
And we basked in Tendulkar glory till the tourney was back in India. 1996 it was and I'd moved to Kolkata from Delhi by then. I had been exposed to watching cricket at the Eden Gardens and was hooked.
My excitement at the opportunity of being able to watch a semi-final live at the Eden Gardens was exacerbated with the joy of Venkatesh Prasad giving Amir Sohail the send-off of the tournament. India had beat Pakistan again. We had made it to the semi-finals and they would play at the Eden Gardens. What happened after that was an anti-climax we'd all want to forget. Again Tendulkar stood out and we cheered -- our small victories.
World Cup 1999: Not much off it since we didn't make it even to the semi-finals. But two events stood out. A belligerent Sourav Ganguly, ably aided by Rahul Dravid taking Sri Lanka to the cleaners in Taunton and India beating Pakistan. Would you believe it, we lost our other games in the Super-6 stage but Pakistan, we beat. Pakistan still made to the finals where they got knocked over by Australia, and yes OF COURSE we had them beat again.
Thrice we'd faced them and thrice we'd beaten them... so measured in cricket matches, India beating Pakistan in a World Cup was almost normative for any boy like me growing up in the 1990s.
In 2003, we went all the way to the finals. But the India-Pakistan tie is all that I remember. Ganguly got a zero but we had Tendulkar getting 98 on top and then Yuvi and Jammy (aka Dravid) finishing with flourish as India chased down a large Pakistan total. I also remember that World Cup for Kenya making it to the finals where we beat them. Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn obliterated us in the finals. Australia had won their third consecutive World Cup -- and yes, we were a little gutted - BUT we had BEATEN Pakistan.
2007 was a disaster. And we didn't get to play Pakistan -- so no small joys to take away from the Carribean shores.
Back in India in 2011, and MSD & Co won the Cup. Apart from Dhoni hitting a huge six to win it for us, the match that stood out for me is the semi-final against Pakistan. Again a standout performance by Tendulkar, and our bowling held up to our neighbours in green.
Imran Khan had once said, "Cricket is a pressure game, and when it comes to an India-Pakistan match the pressure is doubled." He played cricket for Pakistan for 20 years and has over 500 international wickets. He must know what he is talking about.
Watching it from the confines of my living or working space, I must confess being an Indian fan has been a rather pleasurable experience... Onwards and upwards to February 15 then and another India-Pakistan faceoff at the World Cup - yeh dil mangey more!