There are few things common in India and Pakistan. But there is one strong commonality in both the countries. Cricket in these two countries is not a sport alone but a prestige issue. Being arch rivals, people of both the countries take it as a national pride. Therefore, there is an additional curiosity and expectations from the match. There is a belief that cricket-lovers may accept the fact that their teams may not win the world cup but will never accept the defeat in the hand of their traditional rivals. In this background, today’s match between India and Pakistan assumes significance.
If we look at the historical data, India is in a commanding position because it has never lost any match against Pakistan in the world cup. However, in cricket, the outcome of the match depends much upon the performance of the players on that particular day of the match. This makes the win uncertain. As per the experts, the toss can set the stage of the much-needed victory. The toss-winning team can go in for first batting. The advantage of electing to bat is that there is no pressure of chasing the target. So, the batsmen can play their natural game. And if the big total is imposed on the opponent, then there will be an intense pressure to surpass the target. But this doesn’t mean that the team batting second has no chance of winning. If the top order piles up a good total, the pressure will be minimum on the middle order, which can finish the match with the victory.
Irrespective of the result of previous matches, India-Pakistan match generates the maximum attention. Today, being Sunday, adds the impact because people don’t have to go to work. They can spend the whole day in front of T.V with the expectation of watching the victory of their respective teams. Most probably, this will be Dhoni’s last world cup. Looking at his impressive track record, there would be no exaggeration to expect him to steer the team to yet another historic win.