India-Pakistan cricket: Sportsmanship amidst rivalry

Real drama unfolds off the pitch, not on it

Excitement is high when India and Pakistan play cricket. Does the fierce rivalry stem from underlying national pride and historical tensions, or is it merely media-driven hype?

There are many great sports rivalries around the world. In football, few matches generate as much excitement as those between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two leading Spanish clubs. In cricket, there has been historic rivalry between Australia and England for well over a century and of course, between India and Pakistan.

The rivalry transcends the stadium and is visible on the streets outside or even thousands of km away on television sets around the world. And last weekend it was yet another vivid display of rivalry as India took on Pakistan in the ongoing Champions Trophy, playing at the neutral ground of Dubai.

As has been the norm, the match turned into the highest-watched match of the tournament, with fans on both the sides glued to their television sets, if not physically present at the stadium.

In India, cricket is not just a sport but it is an emotion, and a match between India and Pakistan, is a clash between two nations with a lot of history.

When these two countries face off, the excitement is noticeable. Witnessing the media buzzing with anticipation and fans filled with enthusiasm, the whole nation comes to a standstill. But is it all hype or there is something more to it?

“The hype is genuine. Even during the India vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy match in Dubai, the viewership touched around 600 million which speaks for itself. The media hype is constructed around this investment and not the other way around,” Abhijay Raj Vaish, a student pursuing Masters in Journalism at Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication in Pune, tells Media India Group.

On the match day, many memes were viral on social media. For example, “Father (India) will always be ahead of the son (Pakistan)” and people making fun of the players of either of the teams to head back to their country if they lost the match.

Abhay Singh, an IIT graduate who gained fame at the Maha Kumbh where he came to be known as ‘IIT Baba’, had forecast that India would not win and ace cricketer Virat Kohli would not be able to do anything about it. When Kohli scored a century in the match, the internet exploded with reactions, trolling Singh.

However, beneath the hype created by the media, there is an important element added to it, these matches have evolved into a symbol of national pride over the years for both nations.

“Whenever nationalism of such kind is involved, the angst to come out on top is exponentially higher as compared to other matches,” adds Vaish.

India-Pakistan matches bring people together and evoke emotions of patriotism. On the other hand, these matches represent a chance to prove superiority over the rival nation and show that their team is the best. But over the years this rivalry has moved from being on the ground to the streets as for years, players of both the teams have been extremely friendly during the matches and supportive of each other, unlike the heated arguments and angry glares that were common occurrences earlier.

“I think for me the cricket rivalry is there and will always remain but yes I feel that in earlier times it was much more. The intensity, passion, sledding on the field was much more. Now the players share a good camaraderie,” says Meenakshi Sharma, 48, a resident of Chattarpur in southern Delhi.

Whether hype or not, these matches are always special and create testaments for people to share with their future generations. “My most memorable experience watching an India versus Pakistan match is the one played at the MCG stadium in Australia in 2022. Virat was unbelievable in that match as he gave a nail-biting finish. He made us win a match that was impossible for us to win and supported equally well by Hardik,” Sharma tells Media India Group.

Despite the hype, commercialisation and media frenzy, India-Pakistan cricket rivalry remains the most intense and captivating in the world.