A two and a half week long wait is nearing its end as the final match of Champions Trophy 2017 will commence in less than 20 hours. All the cricket buffs are geared up for the final. And it's not just another final - it's an India-Pakistan face off in an ICC tournament. The Men in Blue and the Green Army will face each other for the second time the tournament.
India and Pakistan kick-started their journey in the Champions Trophy with the much-awaited match between the two arch-rivals. The holders defeated Pakistan and levelled the scale of dominance in ICC Champions Trophy. The Indian Cricket team were termed as the tournament favourites and were expected to reach at least semi-finals.
Although India faced a defeat against Sri Lanka in its second match, they decimated South Africa in a virtual quarterfinal and eased past Bangladesh in the semifinals to march ahead to the finals and defend their title. Frankly, this didn’t come as a surprise as the side was expected to progress in the tournament.
Little did anyone know that this time the plans of bewildering the cricket universe would be a team which was the last one to qualify for the tournament. After facing their first defeat against India, Pakistan's three consecutive wins against South Africa, Sri Lanka and England bagged them a place in the finals. Their commendable performances left their opponents flabbergasted and proved why they deserved to be in this tournament.
Now you can imagine the amount of excitement gushing through the veins of fans. A match that had so much buzz around it despite being in the initial stages will have its second edition within a fortnight. It single-handedly brought the predominant share of revenues both for ICC and BCCI. Everything that was seen, said or heard was noted and circulated in the public. Any news related to the competition between the two arch-rivals could not be suppressed.
Ugly banters and heartwarming gestures, we saw the fans from across the border being readily involved in them. Social media was flooded with memes and will continue to be till celebrations and remorse after tomorrow's result become a subject of the past i.e. NEVER. These might fade but the memories will live on. This match will be mentioned every time the topic of India Vs Pakistan is on the table irrespective of whom it favours.
It is an emotion for cricket lovers and you must have already made plans for it just like I did. As sure as I am that you have already stalked up munchies for tomorrow's epic encounter, I am still sceptical about your preferred venue and company. You could either be watching this at your friend's place with your gang or at your house with your family or in your office with your colleagues. Thanks to online live streaming of matches, you could also be watching it on your phone all by yourself.
We conducted a poll to know how would the Indian fans like to watch the match.
The lowest preference of the Indian fans was going to the pub screening of the match. Well, we understand not everyone likes the crowd and not all fans will share your passion. Also, if your team faces defeat you will regret each penny you spent on that drink and nachos. If you are an owner of a place like this, this is your cue to building new marketing strategies.
The plan that was ranked second included fans watching the Ind-Pak match alone all by themselves. Needless to say, if you have these two teams competing against each other do you really need someone else to give you company?
Time to announce the perfect plan for tomorrow's match. According to the poll results, the maximum number of people want to watch this match in their home with their family and friends. Frankly, this result is not surprising as we as Indians leave no chance to witness big events as a family and can anything get better than tomorrow's India Vs Pakistan? For a country that reckons cricket as a religion, this is hands down the favourite plan across the subcontinent.
Well, irrespective of how we watch it, we all are waiting eagerly for the big game. And it's just a few more hours to kill!
