NEW DELHI – The clash between Pakistan and India in the World Cup semi-finals will showcase one of the world’s most intense sporting rivalries, fuelled by nationalism, bloodshed and a shared history.
On the cricket field, a knock-out World Cup match on Indian soil is the biggest fixture between the two rivals for decades, and the excitement across the region is already sky-high ahead of Wednesday’s clash in Mohali. After Thursday’s victory over defending champions Australia, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that Pakistan were the ultimate opponents.
“India v Pakistan in the semi-finals — it doesn’t get better,” he said. “A World Cup hosted by the sub-continental nations and Pakistan and India making it to the semis.” Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said that “there is no bigger rivalry in the game,” while captain Shahid Afridi even expressed hope that a Pakistan-India match could improve relations.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he planned to attend the match and invited President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to also watch the game. “There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket that will be a victory for sport,” said Singh in his invitation to the Pakistani leaders.
The two countries had broken off cricket ties — except for a couple of volatile Test matches in India — for 15 years before India’s historic tour of Pakistan in 2004. Fierce competitiveness, even hatred, is evident whenever Pakistan and India play, but recent games have also been marked by a sense of cross-border comradeship.
The conflicting emotions reflect the complex state of relations, which are often compared to those within an estranged family. Pakistani flags have occasionally been raised in the Muslim slums of India during games — causing predictable outrage. More strikingly though, the matches in 2004 when the India side returned to Pakistan prompted an outburst of affection.
Thousands of Indians were granted special visas to attend the fixtures, and many said that they had been greeted like long-lost brothers as taxi-drivers gave them free lifts and hotels refused to charge them for rooms. At the first game of the tour, in Karachi, the local crowd cheered both sides and even gave a standing ovation when India won by just five runs.
The contrast between political and sporting links was again on display at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year, when many outsiders were surprised to hear the Pakistan team given a huge cheer at the opening ceremony. Few Pakistanis are expected to make it to the stadium in Mohali, but many millions of fans in both countries will follow the game avidly on the television.
Newspaper front-pages on Friday set the tone for the coming days. “Bring on Pakistan!” screamed the Mail Today in Delhi, as the Hindustan Times warned “Pakistan next test of nerves for India.” In Islamabad, the Express Tribune looked forward to the occasion with “Rekindling rivalries: it is India v Pakistan,” while the Daily Times predicted a blockbuster game.
Whether cricket can help the two nations to narrow their differences is uncertain. Diplomatic tensions have remained high since Indian militants attacked Mumbai in 2008, killing 166 people — though the two countries’ foreign ministers are due to hold talks in Delhi in July.
Fears of another attack will mean a massive security presence in Mohali, and the Times of India summed up how the prospect of the game triggered excitement tinged with apprehension. “It’s a match fans, organisers and advertisers have been fantasising about, and the fact that it will be Pakistan’s first on Indian soil since 26/11 (the Mumbai attacks) lends an extra edge,” it said. “Fasten your seat belts.”
