India and Pakistan - a rivalry deep-rooted in its fierceness and friendship

6th March 2022, in a faraway land in New Zealand, India's women's cricket team is preparing to engage in a titanic tussle against Pakistan. This rivalry, for those wondering, has been as one-sided as any in the women’s game. The Women In Blue, prior to this World Cup fixture, have won all the WODIs they’ve played against their neighbours, meaning that this too is expected to be a mere formality.

None of that, though, exists when India takes on Pakistan in a World Cup encounter (both male or female). The stakes are usually at its crest and an unfavourable result has the potential to undermine/rejuvenate/launch a campaign. After weeks of build-up, hours of nervous energy, and moments of passionately singing the national anthem, it begins.

The Women In Blue struggle initially and are swarmed by a decent Pakistan bowling unit. At one stage, India find themselves 112/6 and are staring down the abyss – that too against one of their greatest cricketing rivals. Ultimately, they find a way to post an above-par total and have enough bowling firepower for Pakistan.

In the end, the 2017 finalists post a comfortable victory and even metaphorically ask what all the fuss is about. They had, before this match, never lost a WODI to Pakistan. So this was normal service resuming.

On social media, however, it was a victory over Pakistan – a victory that told people their country was better than the other nation and that Pakistan just can’t compete against India in cricket. A bit of banter never does anyone any harm, especially when talking about top-level sport.

But this notion – the notion of wanting to win just that match against India/Pakistan, at the cost of the rest of their tournament unravelling, isn’t a recent phenomenon. If anything, it has existed for much of this cricketing rivalry (at least for the fans).

Far worse, though, is that it has permeated almost all walks of life. So much so that the feud, apart from all the cricketing merits that accrue, has fostered a mentality of wanting to be better than the other and has become the differentiator – the differentiator that prompts people to abuse Mohammad Shami just because the Men In Blue lose, he concedes a few runs and belongs to a certain religion.

This article isn’t a rant on how social media and the emergence of keyboard warriors has soured a rivalry that is placed as close to immortality as any contest on the planet. Instead, it is about how the cricketers, despite the best efforts of those away from the game, are finding ways to make it all about cricket and the camaraderie – much like it was all those years ago and much like it should be.

The Women’s World Cup fixture between India and Pakistan ebbed and flowed considerably. At one juncture, India were reeling and may have even begun revisiting their worst fears – of losing their opening World Cup fixture. For Pakistan, this was a novel opportunity to set the record straight, once and for all. Hence, it would be fair to say that tensions were running high and neither wanted to give the other an inch.

That competitive spirit, however, didn’t spill over when the encounter culminated. Both sets of players shook hands. India rejoiced that they had gotten out of a tough corner. Pakistan rued their missed chances a touch. But each realized that it was just a game.

Post the defeat, the Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof, who recently gave birth, interacted with the Indian team. The interaction, quite rightly, has gone viral on social media, with many emphasizing how the cricketers were bonding.

Maroof, who had just seen her side comprehensively defeated by India, didn’t have any second thoughts on talking to her counterparts. If anything, it felt that the bond between the two sets of players was eternal and nothing, and literally nothing, could ever break it.

This, though, isn’t an aberration.

Back in 2021, when the India’s men’s team took on Pakistan, social media was abuzz. Neither India and Pakistan wanted to lose but the way cricket is played, one had to. On that evening in Dubai, it was Pakistan who emerged triumphant, leaving many in India crestfallen.

But because of everything that surrounds the game today, it became an opportunity for India’s fans to criticize their own team and attack their families/religion rather than just appreciating what had been a stellar Pakistan display.

So much so that the pictures of Mohammad Rizwan and Virat Kohli wholesomely embracing, got lost in the haze of all the hatred. Both saw their players chat with each other like long-lost friends. The Men In Blue's support staff, including MS Dhoni, also found time to pass on a few tips to a Pakistan greenhorn such as Shahnawaz Dahani. But hang on, enemies shouldn’t be doing that, right?

Enemies shouldn’t be. But the cricketers from India and Pakistan aren’t enemies. They are rivals – rivals in the truest sense who would lay down their lives to win a game of cricket for their nations. But foes who know where to draw a line and understand that sport, despite what is portrayed at times, can indeed cut across boundaries (both literally and figuratively).

The obvious and expected counter argument is that one particular nation has been committing atrocities in one particular region. And, that the other should, as much as possible, isolate themselves from them. There is plenty of truth too. Life and death, especially on the borders, is quite real.

Bilateral India-Pakistan games have been at a premium

The two nations, owing to a variety of reasons, haven’t been playing bilateral cricket for the past decade. For anyone not in the know-how, it might seem ludicrous but those at the top would have, only after enormous consideration, pulled the plug.

That, however, doesn’t mean the cricketing community can’t rejoice when these two behemoths of the sport clash. Irrespective of the gender, the tournament and the venue, this is a rivalry for the ages – a rivalry that is deep-rooted in its fierceness. Yet, also deep-rooted in its friendship.

Cricket is poorer without India and Pakistan battling it out on a regular basis. There are no two ways about it. But it is what it is. And from that standpoint alone, maybe we can enjoy whenever it does happen. It doesn’t happen often. But when it does, you never want it to stop. That’s perhaps the beauty of it too.

Cricket can often be perceived as a matter of life and death. When 10 runs are required off the final over in the summit clash of a World Cup, it feels that way too. But it is a sport after all – a sport that tells you the greater narrative of hatred can be defeated.

The images of Maroof and her newborn child enjoying themselves in the company of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, the Kohli-Rizwan embrace, the Dahani-Dhoni fanboy moment – each will forever be etched in cricketing and social media memory. Yet, it will almost always be forgotten when it really matters.

And that, is even more shattering than frequent India-Pakistan ties. Ideally, it shouldn't be this way. But then again, is it even cricket (or any sport for that matter) if it isn't fighting against the odds?