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.

When the BSE Sensex betrayed Sachin

(Caveat: If you think Sachin should not be in the Indian team anymore, stop, don’t read any further!)

The economic reforms, political turmoil, interspersed cricketing glory, IT supremacy, and robust economic growth, India has seen quite a bit, changed even more, all this in the last two decades. Through this eventful journey if there was one hero that Indians, unanimously, came to love and respect it was, and to a certain extent still is, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Besides his on-field achievements, what has endeared us Indians to the Bombay Bomber has been his humility and statesman like qualities.

Countless paeans have been written to glorify him, but what the Times Of India did more recently was a totally different, yet interesting, take on the master’s journey, ‘Sensex hits 15K, tracks Sachin - yet again’, comparing his career chart with the rise and fall (repeat) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex. Both, in their own way, have captured the imagination of millions of Indians.

Let’s dwell some bit on this relationship.

In the initial stages of the marathon, the Sensex walked shoulder to shoulder with the Bombay Bomber, though both were rather sluggish, the former wedged in the clutches of the ‘closed’ Indian economy and the latter trying to cement his place in the arena.

Fewer ODI matches and low-scoring games, in those days, meant Sachin piled up ODI runs at a slow pace while the Sensex was beginning to reap the benefits of the now famous and well-understood economic reforms of 1991. But the master’s brilliance didn’t take too long to come to the fore and in a few years time Sachin assumed the leader’s role comfortably leaving behind the Sensex that was now on the decline owing to the political instability in the country and uncertain economic policies.

The Sensex remained in awe of the maestro for the next 10 years; Sachin made merry, Sydney to Sharjah, Johannesburg to Port-of-Spain. Once the 10,000 runs barrier was broken any thoughts of a meeting of the two Indian obsessions were imaginary.

The Legend of Sachin

Then came year 2005, the Sensex started trekking on a different trajectory, one that put it back in business. Soon enough it leveled with Sachin, July this year, going on to assume, what now looks like an unassailable lead.

At Vadodara, Sachin stepped on the field for his 400^th ODI match at age 34; if only time was on his side the Sensex with all its vagaries would’ve been a target in Sachin’s orbit. Nevertheless, the journey has been remarkable to say the least, while the stock market has had its fair share of blemishes, Sachin has managed to stay clear of them.

The recent brouhaha over his retirement and the outrageous media campaign to force him (along with Dravid and Ganguly) into retirement, though completely pointless as no one knows better about the right time than the legend himself, has certainly evoked thoughts of a looming vacuum that faces Indian cricket once the master hangs his boots. Runs will be scored, wickets will yet be taken, Indian team will still win matches and bring glory to the nation, but the sheer joy of the ball disappearing from the master’s willow, the undying cherubic smile, and the mischievous googlies will fade into memory.

One can only hope to marinate all that comes from the master in the coming days. While the Sensex strides on toward the 25,000 mark it will surely miss its companion of long!