India-Pakistan Rivalry: When the Hype No Longer Matches the Contest
Boria Majumdar in Nagoya
It was the Asian Games final and the stakes were high. The stands were full, tickets were selling at a premium in Nagoya, and fans from across the world had come to watch this one game. Why? Because it was India versus Pakistan, after all.
Understandably, there was tension. But Pakistan, for a while now, has not been a match for India, and the difference in quality was once again on show in Nagoya.
As I watched, I kept going back to the days when Pakistan versus India was a signature cricketing clash. I grew up on India-Pakistan cricket. Pakistan was a force, and a win against Pakistan was an occasion to celebrate. Not anymore.
The hype today is largely artificial and the celebration more of an afterthought. We need to somehow sustain the rivalry because it sells and offers an attractive headline. But in real terms, Pakistan are in terminal decline, and there is little sign of it stopping.
Take today’s clash. India raced to 80 in the first six overs, and that was when the match was all but over. You don’t score half the runs in the powerplay that your opponent has and then expect to win, even if Ravi Bishnoi bowls poorly and gives away a few free runs.
Almost every reporter present here came to cricket today, leaving the archery and golf gold-medal events behind. Had India been playing any other team, I am sure many of them would have travelled to cover other sports. That it was Pakistan meant there was hype.
But is the hype real? That is the question we need to ask.
For India, it was more of a mental challenge than anything else. They had to lift themselves for a match that matters enormously to the country and give the fans something to cheer about. Ask the players and they know this is no longer really a contest that tests them.
Coming back to the game, the best thing was the crowd. You could see colour everywhere, and that says something about the enduring appeal of this rivalry. It still sells and people still buy into the occasion. More than any other game, you want your team to beat Pakistan.
The hype exists largely because of the political undertone attached to this rivalry. From a purely sporting point of view, Pakistan are a poor team at present. They never really stood a chance, and it was only a matter of time before India took control.
India have played Pakistan multiple times in the last few months, and the result has been the same. When you have a Jasprit Bumrah in the side, particularly in these conditions, the task becomes doubly difficult for Pakistan.
At no point did I doubt India against Pakistan. What I was keen to see was how the players soaked in the occasion and handled the expectation.
Pakistan, on the other hand, need to go back to the drawing board and arrest the decline. At the moment, they are miles behind India. And sooner rather than later, one-sided encounters will begin to catch up with the narrative.
The rivalry may still sell. The occasion may still generate headlines. But at the moment, it is largely cosmetic. Pakistan are no longer a team capable of genuinely challenging India, and that is the uncomfortable truth.
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