India-Pakistan Encounters – Tale Of Diminishing Zeal?

‘Shabaash, Shabaash Wasim bhai’, Moin Khan’s routine words ring in my ears, the last ball Miandad six still haunts many Indians, memories of Basit Ali’s dogged nonchalant, bubblegum-chewing resistance refuse to die away. Sidhu’s aggressive bat-waving strut, Sachin directing Saqlain to the pavilion, Balaji’s effortless sixes, all have given credence to the great cricketing rivalry between the two neighbors.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about how the cricketing rivalry between the two arch-rivals has lost fervor and is just another competition in the sport. And as suggested by some experts (in the media too) it’s the overdose that’s killing. While unarguably the tension and animosity have subsided in the last 4-5 years, thanks to the regular meetings of the two sides, but much is being made out of the overdose.

The current series is the 4^th in as many years, and if one recalls each one of the earlier series generated great interest among cricket lovers, the honors were shared evenly by the two sides. Since the last series a lot has happened and a lot has changed. The two teams have seen the despairing lows of the World cup and then an uncharacteristic revival of sorts at the T-20 world cup. After the T-20 final, where both the teams gave the fans an almost-perfect match for a world cup final, one would’ve imagined a rekindling of interest, if at all there was a fall.

So, what is this talk of diminishing interest? Let’s face it, fans have moved on! From looking at success in an Indo-Pak game as the be-all and end-all to enjoying the game, backing their team hard and beyond a point not fretting over the eventual winner. A case in point - the T-20 world cup final, after an enthralling battle the winner hardly mattered. Think for yourselves, when Joginder Sharma was bowling the last over, did you not think even if Pakistan wins I don’t mind for both the teams have played out of their skins?

So, if fans no longer shoot their TV sets, suffer from heart attacks or vehemently hate players from the other side and look at them as aliens, it doesn’t mean that interest in the battle on the pitch is dwindling. They’ve only grown to be appreciative watchers of the game. This welcome change seems to have mushroomed on both sides of the border. It only augurs well for the game. Cricket will never solve the Kashmir issue but at least frequent meetings are reducing the animosity like nothing else.

Agreed the just concluded ODI series failed to generate enthusiasm but the only palpable reason for that is a very lackluster Pakistani side. Pakistan came to India with series defeats in both tests and ODIs against the South Africans behind them and were naturally suffering from a low morale, it was very evident. While there were shades of the old Pakistani zing but the gargantuan abyss was only too prominent. A closely-knit and fighting Pakistani team would’ve meant the series would not just have gone down to the wire but also shut the cynics up.

While cricket between the two nations is definitely not fighting a battle for survival it sure is struggling to make an ‘Ashes’ like place in the hearts of die-hard aficionados.

Does match-fixing still plague sub-continental cricket?

Randomly voyaging through videos on youtube I landed on a video which showed the Pakistani team being felicitated, after their successful tour to India back in 2005. At the event Omar Sharif, the legendary Pakistani comedian, ribbed present and former Pakistani cricketers (Indian too). In the end he had a sane message for all cricket fans, that to trust the players and not rake up the match-fixing doubts every time the team lost a match. A noble thought and perhaps something that needs to be shoved down many a throat.

While I have always been one to quash doubts of rash friends every time they pointed out the probability of a match being fixed, I had an exception the other day. Pakistan vs. South Africa. I joined the match late in the second innings at the office gym; aware that this was the decider I half-heartedly went about dumbbelling my biceps while keeping a close eye on the match. The equation read 35 runs off 56 balls, with Afridi and Misbah at the crease, piece of chocolate cake. After the drubbing that Pakistan received at the hands of SA in the test series I really wanted Pakistan to win the one day series.

What happened over the course of next 20 minutes awakened the cynic in me after long. The equation changed from a comfortable one to being out-of-reach. The batsmen chose to defend when they should have opted for singles, worth mentioning here that the bowling was ordinary and lacked any sting whatsoever. Misbah even ‘well-left’ a couple of deliveries. And as the self-created pressure began to mount, he played an expansive shot and holed out to the cover fielder. The reasons for playing a shot like that are best known to Misbah, for it was an utter disregard of team requirements. Required rate was just under 4 then.

Gifted with a license is Shahid Afridi, license to play the way he deems fit irrespective of the match situation, he didn’t do any harm to that privilege by recklessly swinging at balls when all he should have done was keep the ball on the ground. After one swing too many he too got out playing a Misbah like shot only this time it was a spectacular catch. All this while the required run-rate was hovering between 4 and 5, a very achievable task with recognized batsmen at the crease. Perhaps, Misbah and Afridi wanted to finish off in style, by plundering the South African bowlers. Surely they knew victory would not just have sealed the series for them but made history of sorts, it would’ve been their first ODI series win against SA. Yet, they played the way they did.

With the tailenders at the crease Pakistan had their backs against the wall. And the chokers this time were in no mood to give up on the Biryani served on a silver platter, the tail was cleaned up in no time. Pakistan lost 6 wickets for 20 runs, when the pitch had no evil, bowling was no where close to being caustic, all the batsmen’s doing.

The on-field cameras liberally showed crowds in the stands, the disbelief was palpable. Shock was writ all over Pakistan coach’s face. A series win before the tour to India begins would have helped boost confidence levels. What begot this defeat? Reckless batting or burgeoning bank balances? Tough to make out, but raised eye brows? Aplenty!