India-Pakistan: a rivalry like no other
When the fixtures for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy were announced, one match stood out above all the rest.
India, winner of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, will start as the favourite, but a look back over the history of matches between the two countries suggests that form has little to do with the final outcome. In a rivalry of such passion, with two nations’ pride at stake, anything can happen.
“It’s a game of nerves without a doubt, you can’t even sleep for several nights before an India-Pakistan game,” says Wahab Riaz, Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler.
Virat Kohli, India’s captain, says it is important his players try to keep a lid on their emotions and treat the match like any other. “Yes, an Indo-Pak game is always exciting,” Kohli said in the lead-up to the tournament. “For people watching in the stadium, the game is different. The atmosphere around the ground is different. But in our heads, playing against any other team – be it England, Australia, South Africa – it is all the same.
“Yes, you need to be passionate, but there is no need to get emotional. You need to play with the same kind of passion regardless of who you play against.”
In 127 ODIs between the two teams, Pakistan has won 72 matches compared to India’s 51, and the men in green also hold the advantage in previous ICC Champions Trophy clashes, with two victories and one defeat.
If Sunday’s match is as exciting as the first ICC Champions Trophy match between these sides, also played at Edgbaston, in 2004, then we are in for a thriller.
Shoaib Akhtar and Naved-ul-Hasan took four wickets apiece in an accomplished bowing performance that restricted India to 200, with only Rahul Dravid’s typically classy 67 and a freewheeling 47 from Ajit Agarkar giving the score some respectability. The momentum swung in India’s favour after a superb opening burst from the left-armer Irfan Pathan, who exploited the seaming conditions to send Pakistan’s top three back to the pavilion with only 27 on the board.
Mohammad Yousuf kept his team in the hunt but wickets continued to fall and the match appeared to be drifting away from Pakistan until a belligerent 12-ball cameo from Shahid Afridi brought 25 runs.
Afridi fell with 14 runs still needed but his intervention proved decisive, as Yousuf, who finished unbeaten on 81, scored the winning run from the second ball of the 50th over to complete a three-wicket win. As if losing to their rivals wasn’t galling enough, the defeat also dumped India out of the competition.
India was therefore out for revenge when the two sides met in the group stage of the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy at Centurion, South Africa. The Indians came up short again though, losing by 54 runs.
Yousuf continued to be a thorn in their side, hitting a run-a-ball 87, but Shoaib Malik was named man of the match for his seventh ODI hundred. Shoaib was particularly strong through the off-side during his innings of 128 from 126 deliveries, punishing any width on offer from India’s bowlers.
India never managed to build a head of steam in reply, with Mohammad Amir taking the key early wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. Dravid (76) and Suresh Raina (46 from 41 balls) showed some fight but the chase always looked beyond them as Pakistan’s bowlers continued to chip away. Saeed Ajmal took the final wicket, cleaning up Harbhajan Singh with a fizzing off-break, to complete a victory that resulted in Pakistan once again pipping India to a semi-final spot.
The most recent ICC Champions Trophy match between the sides came four years ago, at the same venue at which they will be competing on Sunday. Undeterred by a rainy day, the noise was cacophonous at Edgbaston and India’s bowlers put on a superb display for their fans, sweeping aside Pakistan for 165 inside 40 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the attack, taking 2 for 19 from eight overs.
A downpour meant that India’s target was adjusted to 102 from 22 overs on Duckworth-Lewis and it proved a cakewalk for the eventual champions. The tournament’s top scorer Shikhar Dhawan stroked 48 from 41 balls and Virat Kohli hit an unbeaten 22 to seal an eight-wicket win and spark scenes of delirium in the stands. It was a third defeat in as many matches for Pakistan, who exited the tournament at the group stage.
Can India make it two-from-two on Sunday and prevail again at Edgbaston, or will Pakistan upset the odds? Two nations wait with bated breath for the result.