India and Pakistan meet at the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday, still feeling the effects of a tumultuous fortnight in which the threat of a Pakistani boycott – later rescinded – nearly tore a hole in the tournament’s poster.
With bilateral cricket a casualty of their rocky relationship, emotions run high as the hostile neighbors take on each other in multi-team competitions at neutral venues.
India’s strained relations with another neighbor, Bangladesh, have further muddied the geopolitics surrounding the World Cup.
When Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland in the 20-team field for refusing to tour India over security concerns, the regional chessboard changed.
Pakistan has decided to boycott the Group A competition against India in solidarity with Bangladesh, jeopardizing a lucrative competition that sits at the intersection of sports, trade and geopolitics.
Faced with the prospect of losing millions of dollars as advertising revenue evaporated, broadcasters panicked. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) held tense behind-the-scenes talks and eventually reached a compromise to save the tournament’s most popular competition.
However, strictly in terms of cricket, the rivalry was one-sided.
Defending champions India have a 7-1 record against Pakistan in the tournament’s history and they underlined that dominance at last year’s Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
India beat Pakistan three times in that single tournament, including a tumultuous final marred by provocative gestures and dismissive handshakes.
Former India captain Rohit Sharma doesn’t believe in the ‘favourites’ tag, especially when the arch-rivals meet.
“It’s such a fun game,” Rohit, who led India to the T20 World Cup title two years ago, said recently.
“You can’t just think it’s a two-point win for us. You just have to play good cricket on that particular day to get those points.”
EDGE OF INDIA
Both teams have started their World Cup campaigns with back-to-back wins, but India still seem to have a clear advantage.
Opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently top the batting and bowling charts respectively.
However, Abhishek is doubtful about playing in the match against Pakistan as he continues to recover from a stomach infection that kept him out of the first two matches.
Ishan Kishan has reinvented himself as a vital top-order player, captain Suryakumar Yadav has regained his form and Rinku Singh has stepped into the striker’s role in India’s explosive line-up.
Enigmatic spinner Chakravarthy and the ever-wily Jasprit Bumrah dictate the spin and pace, while Hardik Pandya’s all-round spark is crucial.
For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s batting frequency continues to polarize opinion.
Captain Salman Agha will bet on spin bowling all-rounder Saim Ayub, but the potential trump card is off-spinner Usman Tariq, whose side-arm batting has intrigued both opponents and fans.