A tale of two India-Pakistan clashes
Rarely do we witness any article written with a title as above which does not have the presence of stains of blood. Don't worry. This one too, has its own share of blood.
But you can't find it visible anywhere. Such is the beauty of sports. It does not make a scratch on your body. Neither does it touch you physically. But it has the ability to give you a body blow or ache your heart for several days to come.
Our hearts ached (may be a few thousands) when, despite a game-changing catch by Mithali Raj, rains did not allow Indian women to take the game against Pakistani women till the end in the evening in Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi. Then again, our hearts (this time, may be several millions) skipped a beat when after his another-worldly half century in Kolkata, Virat Kohli bowed down to Sachin Tendulkar in the night in Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Finally, our hearts reached normalcy when MS (Dhoni) hit that winning run against Pakistan, thus getting our day squared off. The traditional rivals had it 1-1 at the end of the day.
March 19, 2016 — a day that had cricket written all over it
Among the many gifts which this city has bestowed me with, the one that I treasure a lot is getting rekindled with the game of cricket. My friend and fellow traveller in my journey in Central Delhi has had a crucial role to play in this. Himself an exceptional cricket lover, he helped me understand that letting away the fixation for a particular player or a team allows one to love the game far more dispassionately. I was convinced by him that watching an India-Pakistan women's match at 3pm in a March afternoon would not be a bad idea after all.
However, the venue was Feroz Shah Kotla. So there was no way we could have taken chances. We had pre-booked our tickets and also collected the same beforehand. We reached before time and went in with minimal belongings. As we were able to get Rs 100 tickets for the straight seats in the stadium, we were not sure that we will be able to get the LBW seats (my way of describing the seats from which you can get an umpire's vision and can take your own LBW decisions for the batsmen). But fortunately, we managed to get the same.
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| Image courtesy: ICC World Cup 2015 Theme Song |
The match proceedings began. Standing up for the national anthem is one of the best feelings before a World Cup match. This was the first time I was inside the stadium when our national anthem was played. Though it comprised only a few thousand people in the entire stadium, it was surreal. May be the stadium loaned this experience for the spectators from the Independence Day Red Fort, which was only a couple of miles away, or may be the Republic Day India Gate, which was slightly more further.
Despite watching familiar colours at play, my sensory nerves could not relay messages at the same speed. In company with an immaculate cricket follower, it took me some time to understand the strengths and weaknesses of India's batting line up. It didn't seem that it was India's day with the bat. Wickets fell at regular interval and Pakistani bowlers didn't allow any Indian batswomen to settle down. The team managed to cobble together a below-par score of 99 in its 20 overs giving a target of only 100 runs to win.
Pakistan started pretty well and it seemed that it would turn out be a one-sided match. However, in the middle overs, two back-to-back wickets gave India a sliver of a hope. But the cause seemed lost as Pakistani batswomen were milking boundaries with ease. Then came a stunner from the captain, Mithali Raj picked up a catch out of nowhere. I thought it will be an altogether different experience to see a shift in momentum in a women's game.
Players started shouting, cheering the bowler, upping the ante, close in fielders taking more animated starts. It didn't seem different at all. What followed was moments of sheer bliss for Team India with two back to back run-outs. From 71-3, Pakistan stuttered down to 77-6.
But may be the rain Gods had some other plan for the day. Yes, heavy showers occurred in March in New Delhi and Pakistan won the game by 2 runs with D/L (Duckworth–Lewis) method. Though I was disheartened to see the Indian eves going down against their Pakistani counterparts, I genuinely believed that with the shift in momentum, the game could have gone in our favour had the match been played till the end. As we waited in the stairs area (only one more person was in our sitting area till the end of the game), waiting for the showers to stop, we had a different problem on our hands.
As most India-Pakistan matches are, this was no different. It was an event and an event which requires a celebration to match the importance of its level.
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| 'I was convinced by him that watching an India-Pakistan women's match at 3pm in a March afternoon would not be a bad idea after all.' |
Rains had played a spoilsport in not just inside the stadium in Delhi for us, but also for the terrace screening, which had been organised at a friend's place. However, as luck would have it, it was a late start in Kolkata as well and it allowed us to be at the venue just in time for the start. I can still recollect the intensity in the eyes of Virat Kohli as he looked at Ahmed Shehzad who didn't have much of an idea what the ball was doing once it left R Ashwin's hands in the initial overs.
As I enjoyed the match with a broader group of friends now, I realised how lucky I've been over the years to have always been bestowed with friends, colleagues and roommates, who play, follow and track cricket as passionately as I do. It is not possible for anyone to sustain that kind of love for the game unless there is a conducive ecosystem for it to thrive.
Considering his recent track record against India in World Cup matches, Shahid Afridi's departure didn't create much enthusiasm on the terrace. Jadeja picking Umar Akmal ensured that India restricted Pakistan to less than 120 in 18 overs. Rohit Sharma was never at ease against Mohammad Amir. Just like what transpired in the recently concluded Asia Cup, Amir got better of Sharma here as well. Always beware of the old horse, they famously say in wartime.
In the battle of Amir vs Kohli, Mohammad Sami (the one whom most of us remember as the bowler who has the record of bowling the maximum number of deliveries in an over in an ODI) got both Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina bowled spectacularly with his sheer pace. I vividly remember a photo carried in a newspaper the following day showing Raina's wicket — it felt like worth adding among the collection of classics. It reaffirmed the belief that the battle on the cricket ground between the two nations will always be between the Pakistani pacers and the Indian batsmen.
However, a man from Delhi had some other plans that day. He was against one of his favourite opponents and at the world stage, he couldn't have let such a chance get out of his hands. Virat Kohli gave a kind of an extended trailer of what was to follow in Mohali a few days later against Australia. With Sachin Tendulkar watching the match, it seemed like he was playing this knock as a token of reverence for his cricketing God. No wonder, when he made his half century, he literally bowed down looking at him. Proud of his protégé, Sachin could not help but smile.
It wasn't much left after that. MS, took a different route, this time of a single to finish the game (before equalising it with a six). And in a matter of moments, visuals and loud noise of fire crackers thronged the skyline of Delhi.
It was a day to remember, a memory to take back home, an addition among the images which shall remain sketched on our mental canvas for the years to come. For the love of the game, a day worth living, once again.