Indian companies often declare a holiday on the day of an India-Pakistan World Cup match, especially if it’s a knockout. The Indian team has responded well to this generosity over the years with a 100%-win record. The Indian Army would claim the same, but then not all boundaries were meant to be crossed, as the Chinese found out as well in 2020.
My earliest memories are of the epic quarterfinal in the 1996 World Cup, where Aamir Sohail hit Venkatesh Prasad for a four and then gestured that he would hit him for a four again. The demure Venkatesh Prasad, responded by uprooting his stumps with the next ball. There have been fewer spectacular comebacks on Twitter. I saw a clip recently where they both reflect on the incident; while Sohail reflected inwardly on the lack of commentator contracts from the IPL.
'Jab Venkatesh Prasad ko gussa aata hai!'
Unfortunately, it seems India used up all its enthusiasm in the Indo-Pak match evidenced by the unbelievable catch Anil Kumble took off his own bowling to dismiss Mushtaq Ahmed. But, In the semi-final with Sri Lanka, the disaster that followed reminded everyone why the ’90s were a heart-breaking time to be an Indian cricket fan. Because in the ’90s, all the nationalism in the world cannot cover the fact that the Pakistani team was better than the Indian team by an order of the magnitude of Waqar and Wasim. Many of our victories in the ’90s came through a mix of heady patriotic fervour, a fear of reprisal from fans if they didn’t deliver and Sachin Tendulkar.
In 1999, India won their match against Pakistan, though it was Pakistan who ended up reaching the finals. Ironically, India also won the ’92 Indo-Pak WC match, even though Pakistan went on to win the World Cup. A feeling that every Pakistani player without an IPL contract can relate to.
India also won the 1992 encounter, even though Imran Khan’s Pakistan went on to win the World Cup Ben Radford/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive
The 2003 edition, on the other hand, saw fireworks, mainly from Shoaib Akhtar’s mouth, as he spoke about toppling over the Indian greats like a bad TikTok rapper. Unfortunately, Sehwag and Sachin sent his verbal fireworks over backward point with such savagery that Shoaib Akhtar had to claim retired hurt in the middle of the over, a lot like the sick leave employees ask for the on the day before an Indo-Pak match.
‘The 2003 edition saw fireworks, mainly from Shoaib Akhtar’s mouth, as he spoke about toppling over the Indian greats’ Clive Mason/Getty Images
The 2007 edition saw the lows of both India and Pakistan being knocked out in the league stages (and Bob Woolmer knocked out of the league of the living), a phenomenon that scared advertisers so much, the format of the game was taken back to the quarter finals to ensure that commerce always prevails over the need of the sport and the spectators. 2007, of course, was also the year of the epic T20 World Cup final between India and Pakistan and the last over heroics of Joginder Sharma.
The 2011 World Cup Indo-Pak semifinal, on the other hand, saw a Sachin Tendulkar determined to get out and a Pakistani fielding establishment determined to let him get to his dreaded 100th hundred and get the albatross of his back as they dropped every catch he kept tossing their way. The 2015 and 2019 World Cups went past the same way as talks of an India-Pakistan reproachment and the hopes of a resumption in bilateral series.
As we shape up for the 2023 World Cup match between the two rivals, with Imran Khan in jail instead of the commentary box, here’s hoping in a world full of strife that for once all the explosions are just on the field.
Will we see such antics again? Twitter/ICC
The author, Vikram Poddar, is a Marwari investment banker turned corporate comedian. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the website.
