India and Pakistan face off in rare clash at Cricket World Cup

India will host Pakistan on Saturday in the Cricket World Cup, a historic showdown between bitter rivals that has sparked frenzied anticipation ahead of elections in both countries next year. This is the Pakistani team’s first trip to India since 2016, marking a rare moment of bilateral interaction.

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An outbreak of cross-border violence in 2019 led to the nuclear-armed neighbors largely severing political and economic ties. The competition has already fueled a febrile political atmosphere, with representatives from both sides trading inflammatory rhetoric ahead of the match, which has taken on heightened political significance as elections loom.

Indian authorities have stepped up preparations for the match, the most anticipated tournament, which began last week. It will be held in Ahmedabad, the political center of Narendra Modi, where a crowd of more than 100,000 spectators will fill the world’s largest cricket ground, named after the Indian prime minister.

In response to a surge in bookings for flights, flights and hotels, officials announced the launch of special trains that will bring more fans to the match venue and provide celebrity entertainment ahead of the match. Thousands of security personnel will be deployed. India vs Pakistan is the biggest blockbuster of the game, said Ayaz Memon, a cricket commentator in Mumbai.

Cricket Diplomacy: The Geopolitics Surrounding the 2023 Cricket World Cup

The Pakistan Cricket Board this week expressed serious concern and alarm after its players, journalists and fans faced repeated delays in obtaining Indian visas, with the team only receiving approval 36 hours before traveling last month. Uddhav Thackeray, a right-wing Indian opposition politician, recently attacked Modi for hosting a country that supports terrorism, while a senior Pakistani cricket official called India an enemy country.

Some have criticized what they say are apparent attempts by Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which controls the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the sport’s governing body in the country, to gain political benefits from the World Cup. All the major matches, including next month’s final, will played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which renamed the Prime Minister’s Stadium in 2021 following a renovation.

The BCCI is a ready and deferential tool for the BJP at the start of the long road to next year’s elections, so everything is calculated to give Modi the best advantage possible, said Gideon Hay, a Melbourne-based cricket writer.

“The cricket is hardly an afterthought, almost an afterthought. DD Pandey, a fan who attended the India-Afghanistan match in Delhi this week, said Modi would get a boost if India – the tournament favorites – win. The Indian team is helped by Modi’s support, he said. “India is a growing economy and the World Cup helps raise our profile.”

India-Pakistan Relations in the World of Cricket

Matches between India and Pakistan have become more rare as relations between the two countries, which have fought several wars since their forced partition in 1947, have deteriorated. While the sides continue to meet in international tournaments such as the World Cup, India has for the past decade refused to play head-to-head series due to what it says is Pakistan’s support for militant groups in the disputed territory of Kashmir. India also refuse to travel Pakistan for this year’s Asia Cup, forcing the matches to be moved to Sri Lanka.

This alienation coincided with sharp differences in the economic status of the neighbors. India, now the world’s largest country by population with 1.4 billion people, has a fast-growing economy and its Indian Premier League, a 15-year-old domestic cricket tournament, is the sport’s most lucrative . For more about Cricket World Cup Final Tickets fully discounted prices on our website.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has faced one political and economic crisis after another. Major teams including England and Australia have avoided the country for over a decade due to security concerns and Pakistani players have effectively blacklisted by the IPL. India is far ahead in all aspects, said S.M. Hussain is a cricket writer based in Karachi.

The Electric Atmosphere of India vs. Pakistan Cricket: More Than Just a Game

There is no consistency in Pakistani cricket. But they have a good team and they survive and compete with their talent. Indian fans warmly welcomed Pakistan, the world’s second-ranked team in the one-day format, to the tournament by enthusiastically applauding their victory over Sri Lanka on Tuesday. But analysts say there is little chance that the historic visit will lead to a détente ahead of the countries’ respective polls, as nationalist insults could serve as a useful campaign tool.

Cricket games between India and Pakistan were often an icebreaker, but relations never improved, said Ronojoy Sen, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore who has written about sports. Rohit Agarwal, a fan from Gwalior in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, said the atmosphere at the stadium would be electric amid the tense political backdrop.

“The Pakistan cricket team is huge, he said, adding: When it comes to Pakistan, I always think about our geopolitical tensions. The India Vs Pakistan match is much more than just cricket.”

What happens when India beats Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup

Former cricketers say every defeat to India in the ICC Cricket World Cup triggers a furious reaction from Pakistani fans. It is the most bitter rivalry in cricket, watched by millions, leading to wild celebrations for victory and wild accusations of defeat, but every time India and Pakistan have faced off in the ICC Cricket World Cup, there has only been one winner.

India have defeated Pakistan seven out of seven times in the tournament since they first met in Sydney in 1992 and Babar Azam’s side will hope to end that streak when they meet the hosts in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

This is luck? Did India benefit from winning five of the seven toss? Is Pakistan more susceptible to pressure? We have played seven games and the neighboring country reminds us of the 7-0 score every other day, said Pakistan legend Wasim Akram.

“Honestly, I can’t pinpoint one reason for the bad streak.”

From Sydney to Manchester

Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has beaten by Pakistan four times, believes pressure was a factor. Perhaps India handled the pressure better than us on match day and winning most of the toss also gave them an advantage, he said.

Even when Pakistan won the toss twice, the luck remained the same. They surpassed by the brilliant Sachin Tendulkar in the Centurion chase in South Africa in 2003 and Rohit Sharma in Manchester in 2019 when India dispatched to bat.

Defeat in the 2019 tournament cost Sarfaraz Ahmed the captaincy. Due to the nature of the playing format, Pakistan and India never met in the first four World Cups. Both were favorites to meet in the final when they were co-hosts in 1987, but each lost in the semi-finals.

The first meeting took place in 1992 in Sydney, a low-scoring match remembered more for Pakistan’s Javed Miandad jumping up and down in a bizarre attempt to imitate Indian goalkeeper Kiran More. Pakistan failed to achieve a modest total of 217 runs, losing by 43 runs. However, this defeat soon forgotten as Imran Khan’s team recovered remarkably to win their first and only world title by 50 wins.

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