For some people, the ICC World Twenty20 2014 only begins today. A total of 10 matches have been played already, three teams have crashed out of the tournament and three more are counting their time, but they do not matter to people who think cricket is just a game for a few elites. The confusing format of the tournament, introduced for the first time by the International Cricket Council, prompted many fans to believe that the first round matches featuring Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and six other Associate countries are nothing but a qualifying round.
The ICC can hardly blame ordinary cricket fans for this confusion. A senior Indian journalist, famous for sneaking into the home of Don Bradman, wrote the other day that India will play Pakistan in the opening match, providing an example of how people outside Bangladesh are viewing this tournament.
Despite the best efforts of ICC media and communications manager Sami Ul Hasan, who often reminded the journalists that the qualifying round of the tournament was actually held in the UAE last November, the confusion was far from removed.
Opening match or not, one thing is certain, and that is the intensity that the first Super 10 match between India and Pakistan promises. Recently hailed as the father of all cricket matches by the one of the sport’s legends, Wasim Akram, it has everything – the emotion, the passion, the competitiveness and the animosity – that can make a game interesting regardless of the format.
Only rivalled by Ashes, the fight for the urn between cricket’s two old foes England and Australia, this match is expected to give the tournament the perfect momentum, with all other the cricketing giants set to take the field soon.
Barring the Bangladesh-Afghanistan opening match, no other game could generate such interest, as fans jostled for tickets at bank booths for hours, and online tickets disappeared in a flash.
India’s recent defeat to Pakistan in the Asia Cup at this very ground adds an extra dimension, as that match was decided in the last over, with Shahid Afridi hitting two sixes to seal the thriller.
‘I was watching television,’ said Indian captain MS Dhoni when asked about his memory of the game. ‘I frankly thought the second six that he hit went to the fielder, but later I realised that it has crossed the boundary, so it was an exciting game.’
Dhoni, who missed the Asia Cup with a side strain, claimed the result will have no bearing in this game, but his counterpart Mohammad Hafeez tended to think the other way.
‘This is a good sign for us,’ Hafeez said of Afridi’s form.
‘We always want him to bat at lower order and finish the game well for Pakistan,’ Hafeez added. Afridi was also instrumental in their ICC World Twenty20 win in 2009.
The India-Pakistan game is not just mouth-watering because it is played between the two greatest rivals, but it has some other meaning in the context of the tournament. The two teams are placed in a group that boasts three of the four former champions, plus all-time favourites Australia and the hosts, meaning no team can afford a single defeat.
India know this more than anyone else, having crashed out of the last edition in Sri Lanka after just one loss to Australia in the second round.
India have not made the semi-finals even once since winning the inaugural edition, leaving them highly desperate this time around. Pakistan are one of the very few sides that could add salt to that wound.
-With New Age input
