It just does not get bigger or better for the cricket fans around the world as a wonderful piece of scheduling allows them to watch Pakistan and India renew their fierce rivalry on the second day of the Cricket World Cup 2015.
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If the ‘50-over Ashes’ between England and Australia was a fine way to open the event, Pakistan-India goes a step further – a great spectacle and build up to what could turn out to be one of the greatest ever World Cups for supporters.
The setting is perfect in Australia and New Zealand – given the atmosphere, stadiums, grounds, pitches and fans. The stage is well and truly set.
Having previously been part of closely contested matches between Pakistan and India, I can safely say that battles like this between the arch rivals are make or break games for the careers of both sets of players.
A good performance can earn you rave reviews for your whole life while a single poor showing can lead to heavy criticism.
However, I feel that this match is most beneficial for Pakistan for the fact that they are playing their most intense game of the tournament as their first match.
The game may not be bigger than the final in terms of stakes but it will be bigger in terms of the atmosphere, rivalry and global audience, with fans the world over likely to be glued to their screens and loath to miss a single second of action.
This may ‘only’ be the first match but it is vital for Pakistan – if they were to beat a lesser side in their opener, their currently frail confidence would not be restored. But if they can win against India, reigning champions and arch-rivals, their confidence will rocket and that self-belief could potentially spark a new legacy in history of Pakistan cricket.
India have been struggling in ODIs on Australian soil and that can be exploited by Pakistan – their tentative approach to handling the white ball, which moves just a bit more than the red cherry, could work in Pakistan’s favour.
Pakistan must make the most of their opportunities as it would be really difficult to make amends for any chances that slip by; India have got the potential in their batting lineup to hurt Pakistan badly if one of their big guns gets going.
The idea should be to have a crack at them when they are new to the crease by building pressure and not giving them easy runs. Often, we have seen Pakistan fail to attack a new batsman and give away cheap runs – which allows the opposition to settle easily despite a loss.
With two new balls to be employed from both ends, Pakistan can certainly test India’s top-order if they apply themselves properly and do not get carry with the emotions, and of course the bounce they will get from the pitch.
Misbah-ul Haq’s biggest strength has always been his calmness and it is high time that he had a trickledown effect on the team by remaining cool and keeping the players around him under control as well because it is a test of nerves. Whoever can best handle the nerves will emerge victorious.
The Green Shirts should forget what has happened in past World Cup matches, India’s much-discussed 5-0 lead in tournament encounters doesn’t count for anything; it is a new day, a new start and a new opportunity for Pakistan.
Expectations are higher for Pakistan’s batsmen, particularly after the loss of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Junaid Khan, which has weakened the bowling attack significantly. For Ahmed Shahzad, Younis Khan, Misbahul Haq or Umar Akmal, the pressure is on to play their best cricket.
What makes Pakistan dangerous is that they can win a game out of nowhere. When I travelled with the team in Asian Cup last year in Bangladesh as fielding coach, I witnessed two tremendous turnarounds.
We were losing against India and required nine off four balls with a last wicket in hand, but Shahid Afridi hit two consecutive sixes to win it for Pakistan and the whole team went crazy.
From then on, the whole mood of the dressing room changed – such was the impact of win against India.
In the next match against Bangladesh, we needed 102 runs off 55 deliveries and once again Afridi played a blinder to take us home to a three-wicket win.
That is what victory against India means. That is the effect it can have. I feel this is the best opportunity for Pakistan to rewrite history and end their World Cup jinx.
Pakistan may not have all bases covered as well as other teams but they have those match-winners who can make the difference on their own.
Just like every other Pakistani, I am both hoping for, and predicting, a victory for Pakistan. I feel that their time has come to take revenge of all those World Cup heartbreaks.
