After a period of uncertainty, India and Pakistan, The Classic of cricket, prepare for a summer of familiarity, from the Asian Cup to the World Cup.
Writer Venkata Krishna B is currently in Pallekele to cover the 2023 Asia Cup.
Thick, dark, fast-moving clouds from the Indian Ocean obscure the bird’s-eye view of Colombo. The island nation, whose topography resembles the drop of a tear, is a different country these days. The long civil war is over, although some scars may remain, the economic crisis of last year has abated. You don’t see people lining up in front of gas stations or grocery stores; There is no chaos like when Australia landed on these shores last year.
By contrast, Bandaranaike International Airport is teeming with Europeans and Southeast Asians, an encouraging sight for an economy that relies on tourism. In the streets, the horns are non-existent, the traffic signals are scarce, there is an insubcontinental discipline. Poya, the biggest festival in the country, has reached its final stretch and will end on Wednesday. The usual style and color one associates with the country is lacking, even on the three-and-a-half hour drive from Colombo to Pallekele, where the Asian Cup leg in Sri Lanka kicks off on Thursday.
you have exhausted your
monthly limit of free stories.
To continue reading,
just sign up or log in
Continue reading with an Indian Express Premium Membership.
This premium item is free for now.
Sign up to read more free stories and access partner offers.
Continue reading with an Indian Express Premium Membership.
This content is exclusive to our subscribers.
Subscribe now to get unlimited access to premium and exclusive stories from The Indian Express.
Perhaps the culprit is the rain, which has been relentless and could be the topic of conversation for the next fortnight. But like the short, turbulent flight across the Palk Strait, the Asia Cup also landed here, having suffered considerable turbulence over the past six months. At one point, the tournament seemed impossible due to tensions between the Indian and Pakistani cricket boards.
So the tournament could not afford to lose the two literally clicking nations that have enriched the folklore of the encounter. Since its creation in 1984, the tournament has expanded from three to four and six teams, but overall it remains like the Copa América. Just as the continental soccer tournament in the Americas is all about Brazil and Argentina, the Asian Cup has always been all about India and Pakistan, with their frenzied fans, overflowing emotions and passion of billions.
shimmer and shine
It’s the contest that gives the tournament some sparkle and shine, where the two teams are invariably grouped into the same bracket just to ensure there are at least two matchups. It is the contest that causes the broadcasters to shell out huge sums of money. It is a contest that lights up the tournament.
With matches between these two neighbors restricted to ICC and Asia Cup events only, the first of a minimum of three matches is scheduled for Saturday. It could be four or five if both teams go all the way here and at the World Cup. As India and Pakistan find themselves on the cusp of potentially five games in three months, the scenario is similar to that of two other storied football rivals (Barcelona and Real Madrid) in 2011. Four Clásicos in 18 days pushed the already venerable rivalry to the limit. The result was that two coaches, Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho, showed their uglier side.
The only force that could spoil the party for fans of the subcontinent is the weather, as the monsoon has come to life in Pallekele after a brief hiatus. Located in a mountainous terrain, it witnessed heavy rain throughout the afternoon on Tuesday and the forecast does not look encouraging either. It’s the last thing either team would have expected.
Cricket’s El Clasico
As the World Cup looms, the Asian Cup is undoubtedly a big event for these two giants, who are hyped for their strong performance in the main event. As in El Clásico, there are neither the best nor the least favored here. Pakistan takes the field in the first match of the Asia Cup in Multan against Nepal as the number one ranked team in the world and on paper they have the most complete and balanced attack.
most read
A top three looking solid as ever, all they need is a mid-level support role to emerge as the team to beat in these conditions. As part of their preparations, they arrived in Sri Lanka a fortnight ago to play Afghanistan in three ODIs before flying back home to finish the Asian Cup leg in Pakistan. Taken together, they seem like a much more established unit.
With the return of the World Cup home, India cut a different piece than it was in 2011, when it became the first nation to lift a World Cup on home soil. As a forerunner, MS Dhoni took home the Asian Cup held here without Sachin Tendulkar and without Virender Sehwag in the business end of the tournament. Such a scenario could spell doom for this team, since they have not yet defined their ideal eleven. With four of their starting players returning from long absences due to injuries and one of them (KL Rahul) already ruled out for the first two games, does not breathe much confidence. Rather than use the tournament as a World Cup dress rehearsal, India is relying on him to find their best combination and uncover an established batting lineup.
Of course, a strong tournament performance may not guarantee World Cup success, but it can be a sign of things to come. Last year, when the Asian Cup was held in T20 format in the run-up to the T20 World Cup, India was left without depth, losing to Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They should have sounded the alarm but, having decided to view it as a false alarm, they were beaten by England and failed to reach the semi-finals. It feels like India is once again in a similar space. Only time will tell if it is déjà vu or not.
First published in: 08-29-2023 23:01 IST
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.