An India vs Pakistan clash is the mother of all cricketing competitions and is also by far the most important match of the World Cup 2021. Every seat of the 70% permitted capacity will be taken and the need for tickets is bordering on the amazing.
The question to ask then is honest: Is this match “just another game” as the performers keep saying in pre and post-match press conferences, or is it well and definitely a very unusual match, which creates heroes who are finally celebrated back home for days and months?
Kapil Dev, one of the biggest to have played the sport, very definitely calls it a “very different game.”
“This is one game every cricketer wants to do well in. You know you will be an instant hero back home if you are able to win this contest for your team. People remember these performances and I keep saying to everyone I meet that it is not pressured. Rather, it is pleasure.”
“You need to welcome the biggest stage. Enjoy the opportunity to perform at the biggest stage for only then can you be really great. You should treat such matches as pleasure. India Pakistan contests offer you that opportunity to become a true great of the game.”
Kapil Dev clearly remembers two matches against Pakistan in Sharjah. The first is clearly the Javed Miandad six of Chetan Sharma and the 2nd is the most unbelievable Rothmans Cup match where India, after being bowled out for 125, bundled out Pakistan for 87 to register a famous victory.
“I will never forget these two matches. That’s what I am trying to tell you. This is a very different match and the high of winning this is different”, says Kapil.
“I’d want these two teams to play more against each other” – Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd, a West Indian cricket famous, who has a realistic view on the context, accepts.
“Look there is no debate this is one of cricket’s marquee contests. It is like England v Australia and sometimes even bigger. Players just want to do that extra bit better in matches like these. As a sportsman, I’d want these two teams to play more against each other and I’d also hope that someday they start playing bilateral cricket again. I say this only because I’d want to watch these matches for what they bring to the table”, says Clive.
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