In Dubai, big match nerves keep cricketing rivals at fever pitch
Rohit Sharma’s side stroll to an eight-wicket win in a match where only pride was at stake for both teams
After weeks of waiting, Indian and Pakistani national cricket teams came face-to-face yesterday to a fanfare of energy and noise.
Fans flowed into Dubai International Cricket Stadium from all corners of the emirate to watch the Asia Cup clash.
The last time the two sides clashed, Pakistan delivered a 180-run thumping to India at the Champions Trophy in London.
India fans were keen for payback.
“This game is what cricket is all about for us,” said Vijay Fulwani, 29, a textiles businessman from Andhra Pradesh in the southeast of India.
“No other matches matter – this is so important. We love our wicketkeeper MS Dhoni. He’s the main man and will become prime minister one day.
“I’ll travel anywhere to watch him, as long as India wins of course.”
Sparks fly when the two great cricketing nations of India and Pakistan meet.
Since Partition in 1947, India has not lost to Pakistan in a World Cup, although Pakistan has recorded smaller, albeit notable victories.
Haroon Rashid, 30, a human resources consultant from Peshawar, was at the match with his partner, an India supporter.
“There has been a bit of friction between the nations, and we know it’s a big game,” he said. “But it’s all friendly between the two of us. It’s been a topic of discussion over the breakfast table as it’s the first time we’ve played each other since we’ve been together.
“The rivalry makes these games even more special when they come around.”
Police were out in force but there was little sign of the excitement spilling over as thousands of fans went through the turnstiles.
Benali Mazumdar, 29, an aeronautical engineer from Kolkata in the far northeast of India, said the one-day clash with Pakistan had been in the diary for months.
“Cricket is everything in India, and the games against Pakistan are not like any others,” she said.
“To win means so much to everyone. This rivalry is about politics, our governments and the long history between our two countries.
“This is more than sport, it is symbolic and gives us our identity. But we know it’s just a game and we must all get along.
“It’s a shame we will not see Virat Kohli bat, but we have Dhoni – he is such as special player.”
On Tuesday, a nervous India edged home against Hong Kong in their first match at this year’s Asia Cup.
The game added intrigue for fans eager to second-guess what could unfold in the 50over clash with Pakistan.
With the teams ready to face each other again on Sunday, the first fixture was about bragging rights. By 6.40pm, Pakistan – who batted first – were all out for 162. As India’s opening batsmen took to the field for what was to be an eight-wicket victory, the 25,000 capacity crowd roared in delight. Businessman Deepak Gamnani, 40, from Andhra Pradesh, said excitement had been building all week.
“All of our colleagues have been talking about the game and trying to get tickets,” he said. “It’s been the only topic of conversation and I can’t believe this day has arrived.
“There seems to be a lot more India fans here, so we’ll make our voices heard in the stadium.”
After all that build up. India against Pakistan in the UAE for the first time in over 12 years. The first time they had met since the titanic Champions Trophy final last year. Cricket’s most important fixture.
Fair to say, this was not worth the wait, the hype and especially not all that time spent sat in traffic.
There is no such thing as a dead rubber between these two nations. National pride supersedes all.
But the schedulers had done their best to diminish the importance of it. As a competitive fixture, it was pointless.
The fixture list had already been skewed to dictate that India get to stay where they are for the Super Four stage, sending Pakistan for two matches in Abu Dhabi instead, whatever the outcome. Neither do the points carry through to the next stage.
So as soon as the two sides did the needful against Hong Kong in their respective opening game, the context to this fixture became little more than ceremonial. At least Indian supporters could revel in the result. It was one-way traffic, much like Hessa Street heading south at about 1pm on match day.
OK, so all it was worth was bragging rights. But so savage was this win, they must surely have inflicted psychological scars ahead of the meeting that matters, when they are reunited in Dubai on Sunday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar essentially ended the game before it had begun, with a sparkling opening spell with the ball.
He dismissed Imam-ul-Haq then Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan’s champion the last time the sides met, with only three runs on the board at the start of the fifth over.
Bhuvneshwar finished with three for 15. Perhaps of greater alarm from a Pakistan batting standpoint was the fact Kedar Jadhav was permitted to take three for 23 from nine overs of innocuous off-spin, as they posted a paltry total of 162.
“The way the seamers bowled up front gave us more opportunities to take wickets,” Jadhav said. “At the moment we are on the winning side, so it feels good.”
Captain Rohit Sharma, who scored a 39-ball 52 that included a six over mid-wicket that measured at 96 metres, added: “Right from the start we were quite disciplined. It was a great game for the bowling unit, especially since we knew it would be difficult in these conditions.
“We stuck to the plan and did what we had planned to do on this surface. The spinners kept it tight, got the odd breakthrough, but the wickets
Right from the start, we were quite disciplined. It was a great game for the bowling unit, especially in these conditions
ROHIT SHARMA India captain
in the first couple of overs was very important.
“It was important to get early wickets because they’ve got some quality in the batting. So we didn’t want to make things easy for them.
“We kept things on the stumps and we spoke about not giving Pakistan room.”
Even on a pitch that was in its second day of use and increasingly dusty, Pakistan’s total was never going to be remotely enough.
Sharma blazed away at the top of the order while, at the other end, Shikhar Dhawan proceeded with a freshness that belied the fact he had batted for 40 overs in extreme heat a day earlier, and fielded for 50, then another 43.1 in this game. He made 46, before driving Faheem Ashraf to Babar Azam at backward point.
To add injury to insult, Shadab Khan, the livewire of the Pakistan side, trudged from the field midway through his second over, with what appeared to be a glute injury.
It was the second time in the first two games of this Asia Cup that a Pakistan bowler had walked from the field midover. At least Usman Shinwari managed three wickets against Hong Kong before his premature departure. This time he was ineffectual.
The only conspicuous negative for India was an injury to Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder, who was rested for India’s first game a day earlier, appeared to jar his back while following through bowling the penultimate ball of his fifth over.
He barely moved as he laid on the turf, before being wheeled off the field on a stretcher and receiving treatment for acute lower back pain.
For India, the eight-wicket win was a show of strength ahead of the bigger challenges to follow. For Pakistan, it was a stark reality check.
“It was a poor day, we were below par, and that was very disappointing,” Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach, said.
“I thought we were soft. We played outside our roles. We didn’t play well, and it is not good enough.”