From Durban to Dubai, Mirpur to Melbourne, the legendary rivalry between India and Pakistan has played out across different continents over the past eight T20 World Cups. On Sunday, this fiery showdown will get an exciting new chapter in a most unexpected place: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, in a corner of Long Island, an hour’s drive from the hustle and bustle of New York.
The unorthodox location of New York and the high ticket prices will not deter cricket fans from both countries from thronging the stadiums in large numbers and creating a carnival atmosphere for a match between the two arch rivals, as New York has a sizeable Indian and Pakistani population, just like anywhere else in the world.The International Cricket Council (ICC) is well aware of India and Pakistan’s insatiable hunger for cricket, which is why they ensure that the two countries meet at the earliest stages of every major event.
Apart from the venue, the nature of the pitches also adds to the sense of uncertainty. With temporary venues built in time for the T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean, the four drop-in pitches at Centre Square did not have enough time to settle. As a result, the balance of play was tilted against the batsmen. Inconsistent bounce meant some balls stayed slightly low while others flew awkwardly up over not-so-short distances. Excessive movement off the pitch also plagued the batsmen.
The three previous matches played at the venue have all been low-scoring: Sri Lanka lost their opener to South Africa for 77 and six wickets, while Ireland edged out India for 96. Concerns were raised after India’s eight-wicket win, and the ICC issued a statement acknowledging the track’s immaturity and saying it was doing all it could to improve the situation.
Incidentally, Canada edged out Ireland on Friday with a score of 137/7, winning by 12 points. So what happens on Sunday?
While the characteristics are unlikely to change dramatically, one can only hope that the surface will produce a fair and entertaining match between bat and ball. Having been in New York for over a week, India will be more attuned to the subtle differences in the dimensions of the pitch and boundaries. They will also be more relaxed despite the frenzy and excitement that will culminate at 10:30 a.m. local time. After a heavy win over Ireland in their opening match, India are comfortably placed in Group A (the top two teams from each group advance to the Super Eight stage).
In contrast, Pakistan is in dire straits. After being thrashed by debutants the United States in Dallas on Thursday, they find themselves facing a key match in the tournament much earlier than they expected. Before the tournament, the game seemed designed to make money and satisfy rivalry-starved fans, because the fortunes of either team in the tournament didn’t seem to depend on the outcome of the match.
Pakistan now desperately need a good performance to ensure they are level with three teams in the group. Though India have the advantage in the head-to-head T20 World Cup standings with 5 wins and 1 loss, it is not impossible for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s batting line-up may be given a little more leniency after their weaknesses were exploited against the USA, but their talented pace attack cannot afford to be as lackluster as they were against Dallas. If the pace attack of Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Amir and Naseem Shah can get the hang of things with the new ball, they have enough in their repertoire to give Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli a hard time. For players, such pressure-packed matches are often a time when it’s important to visualize positive thoughts as part of their preparation, and Kohli should have plenty of that given his record against Pakistan.
Kohli has scored 488 runs in 10 matches against the old rivals at an average of 81.33, including a calm 82* in a tight run-chase in Melbourne two years ago.
India will not be too shaken if their top two batsmen are out of form. The middle order of Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya are more than capable of leading the innings. Pant shone in his recent unbeaten clash with the Irish bowlers, closing out the match with a sublime reverse lap for six. Jasprit Bumrah’s all-round bowling was further reassuring.
These different conditions at the start of the tournament should add some excitement to matches that have lost some of their intensity in recent years.
