INDIA vs PAKISTAN- The Lost Charm

India vs Pakistan - The lost charm

“In the air!!!!! Sreesanth takes it. India wins. Unbelievable scenes here at the Wanderers” 

 

--A six to bring up the triple hundred for the Nawab—

--The 155ks delivery straight into the stands by just a cut—

--Beta, tu time note kar le—

--Prasad cleaned up Sohail in style after being challenged for a four in the cover—

--The monkey jumps from Javed Miandad—

These are not just incidents. These were the moments when the heart of every cricketing fan skipped a beat. These were the moments where two nations stood still and laid out all their expectations, hopes, pride and honor in the hands of 22 individuals. These were not just any other cricket matches, these were INDIA vs PAKISTAN, the best cricket can get.

I remember being just 8 years old, when I first started watching cricket. It was an India vs Pakistan match at the 2003 Cricket World Cup. I only knew that the bowler who is bowling, who was Wasim Akram was the best in business. An in swinging delivery punched through the covers. And my whole colony was celebrating. The cheer, the crackers and celebrations were such that it seemed India has won the World Cup. That’s when I realised how important this cricketing clash for the people. After a couple of hours, Sachin suffered from Hamstring and Sehwag was called as a runner. A good bouncer from Shoaid, and straight into the hands of fielder, (I think it was Younis), who took a blinder at point. At that point, I witnessed sudden peace in the colony. Pin drop silence everywhere. Even tears in some eyes. Some were so frustrated that they were constantly abusing Sehwag for being a bad omen for Sachin. That’s when I realised that this cricketing clash was not just any other sport, it wasn’t a sport. It was an Emotion.
Then in 2004, India visited Pakistan. It was the Hutch Cup. I remember the words of our then Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji ,”Cup to jeetna hi, par dil v jarur jeetna.” (win the cup but more importantly win our hearts). And that’s what India did. A scintillating 3-2 win in the ODI series, and a 2-1 win over the test series. That series witnessed a final ball finish in the first match, where Pak needed 6 off the last ball, chasing a gigantic target of 350, and Moin Khan gave away a Simple Catch to Zaheer at Mid Off. It witnessed an epic run chase by Kaif and Dravid, a breathaway catch of Inzamam Ul Haq by the Little master at Long on. The first triple hundred by an Indian, that too by a six, the declaration of the innings at 194 for Sachin and many more. In 2005, when Pak visited India, we saw the rise of MS Dhoni. It was the time Pakistan dominated India on the field. Then in 2007, Dhoni took the vengenance by defeating the neighbours in the final of the first ever T20 World Cup. Players changed. Venues changed. Rules changed. But one thing that never changed was the enthusiasm and the emotions that flowed in the blood of every cricketing fan.
In 2008, the dark times came up and there was a ban of any bilateral series between India and Pakistan. Things got ugly and cricket got dirty. The India Pak clash that once got everyone on their toes for the nail biting finishes, action packed sledging were now just a medium to establish once superiority over the other. Jingoism destroyed the spirit of the game and the emotion became a war.

Luckily the game got back to its feet in 2011 World Cup where India again showed its dominance by thrashing Pakistan. Umar Gul, who was confident enough to dismiss the top three giants of Indian batting order was ruthlessly thrashed for 22 runs in his second over, ending up with one of the worst figures of his life. The spirit was back. Lonely streets, crackers at every boundary, everything was back. It seemed that we were reliving the ’03 era. But it was not for long.

The political tensions between India and Pakistan continued to increase, and the arch rivals were only meeting up in ICC events or in Asia Cups. India was thriving in the field of cricket, and Pakistan was not able to come out of their darkest times in cricket. After 2011, not only once did it seemed that Pakistan could even dream of winning against India. And it happened. It all became obvious that India is a far better cricketing nation that Pakistan. India has a far better bowling and batting line up than Pakistan. (never talk about fielding when it comes to Pakistan). The enthusiasm was slowly vanishing, and it was clearly visible in the ’15 World Cup game. No crackers, no celebrations. The streets that once roared when Sachin hit a four was silent when India won the match.

But why did the excitement returned for the Champions trophy ’17? Were the fans expecting a nail biting show or was it just a mean to show the opposition that who a better nation is? Was it sportsmanship or just Jingoism? Did politics killed the spirit in the game of cricket? When it was expected that India will emerge victorious in a completely one sided match, why were the fans pretending to expect a last ball finish match? Who to blame? Pakistan? Politics? Us ? Or the Social Media?