Asia Cup 2018: India vs Pakistan, 4 Key Battles that will shape the contest

The players versus the fans: Who will handle the expectations the best?

The hopes of billions

A cricket match between India and Pakistan is a big deal.

Can you spell understatement?

I could write that a cricket match between India and Pakistan is the biggest deal that was ever dealt and it still wouldn't come close to describing the enormity of the situation. India's group stage Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan was viewed by 201 million people. Everybody watches India versus Pakistan matches. It doesn't matter whether you're a Cricket fanatic, or if the only Cricket you know is an insect; if you're Indian or Pakistani, chances are you will be watching this match.

If you are lucky enough to play in one of these, you literally have millions of eyeballs scrutinizing your every move. This is without taking into account the cauldron of emotions that the stadium itself is; fueled by the chants of partisan fans. The cacophony of cheers and boos, prayers and recriminations, boos and hisses, in the Colosseum must have surely sounded like ambient music in comparison to a stadium during an India-Pakistan clash.

No pressure, then.

Just another day in the office.

Not quite.

The pressure is an inescapable reality; nothing can really be done about it. It can be managed, help is surely offered, but it will never truly go away.

The question is how the pressure will affect the players.

Sachin Tendulkar spent 12 sleepless nights in the lead-up to India's 2003 World Cup match against Pakistan. He responded with a match-winning 98 that eviscerated a Pakistani pace-attack reading Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar. The great man took all that pressure, and channeled it emotionally into his batting; he asked his opening partner, Virender Sehwag, to take it easy, and then upper-cut a Shoaib Akhtar delivery that would surely have been called wide for a six.

Fakhar Zaman must have been under an inordinate amount of pressure in the Champions Trophy Final against India last year. He used it to propel his team to victory.

Pressure is not necessarily a bad thing.

However, not all players use it to fuel themselves.

Some freeze in the spotlight.

Mitchell Johnson memorably had a bowling meltdown in the Lord's Ashes Test of 2009; the immense media scrutiny he was under, taunts of England's Barmy Army, and momentousness of the occasion caused him to spray the ball all round.

And so it is the team that handles pressure better that will probably win.

Will pressure cause a crucial drop catch? Will it cause a usually free-flowing batsman to scratch around due to fear of failure? Will it cause a bowler to go to pieces/

Who will rise to the occasion? Who will stand up to be counted? Who will use the pressure as motivation? And who will recognize a player under pressure, and move in for the kill?

Most likely, a player on the winning team.