9 August 2023, Mumbai: Offices have declared holidays. Tickets have been booked in bulk and given for free to a privileged few. The lesser mortals queue up outside the cramped box offices.
There’s an unmistakable buzz in the heavy, humid Chennai air. But it has nothing to do with India and Pakistan.
Age old Rivals
The age-old rivals will write a new chapter of their hockey history at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Wednesday. But for once, an India-Pakistan match isn’t the most sought-after event.
The biggest talk of the town is a new Rajini film, Jailer, which hits the screens on Thursday. And if that alone isn’t enough, an AR Rahman concert over the weekend has added to the madness.
In this frenzied backdrop, the group stage finale of the Asian Champions Trophy will be played on the recently-laid turf, under the bright, new lights at this quaint, little stadium.
In anticipation of the state’s political bigwigs attending the marquee clash between the two neighbours, a fresh coat of paint is being applied on the freshly-painted seats of the VIP stand. And an additional layer of security is deployed around the stadium.
That’s that, as far as the hype goes around the big match. Nothing illustrated the one-sided nature of the rivalry better than the soundbites from the two camps on the match eve: India captain Harmanpreet Singh was more patronising, hoping for a promising future for a ‘young Pakistan team’; Pakistan coach Muhammad Saqlain was more philosophical, hoping that people would obsess less over the results and ‘appreciate the beauty of the match’.
For what is billed as a heavyweight clash, there was no trash talk, no baiting.Perhaps, a sign of the times. The overall head-to-head numbers might be favouring Pakistan but in recent years, the pendulum of this see-sawing rivalry has decisively swung India’s way.
India is on upper hand in every clash
Except for the meaningless South Asian Games in 2016, India have not lost to Pakistan since 2014 although there have been a few pulsating draws and some spirited Pakistani performances“India is superior in every way. Among the world’s best,” Saqlain admitted.
It’s a unique phenom where an entire generation of Pakistani players do not know what it’s like to beat India or, from India’s point of view, get a true feel of what was once an actual fight among equals.
Harmanpreet comments
Harmanpreet, for instance, has only heard tales of epic India-Pakistan matches but barely featured in any of them. “There’s a lot of difference between us now,” said Harmanpreet. “Earlier, both teams were good and so, the matches were good. It’s not like there are easy games now. But results and structure-wise, we are doing better.”
Glimpses of this have been visible during this tournament. India have used a different press, tried to be robust defensively and looked sharp moving forward. Pakistan have tried to punch above their weight but have looked a little out of depth in the attacking third.
Saqlain has prepared his team by showing them some videos of the good old days when he and his co-coach Rehan Butt ran circles around the Indians.
Fourteen of his players will face India for the first time. And he gave them just one piece of advice. “I started my career against India. If you do well in these matches, your career is set. It’s a very Important match for their career,” Saqlain said.
Saqlain also spent a lot of time on Tuesday making his players watch their own videos from the Asian Champions Trophy. Sixty-five clips of them entering the attacking circles, and fluffing chances, in the four games they’ve played so far.
Saqlain will hope his strikes will find the scoring touch on Wednesday but he’s banking on another element, which – although out of his control – often defines an India-Pakistan match: emotions.India is playing at home“India are playing at home and we have seen in the past that they are under more pressure in such games,” he noted.
Emotions ran high the last time India and Pakistan played together in a consequential match on Indian soil. Back then, during the 2014 Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar, Pakistan won an acrimonious encounter that saw their players get into a spat with the spectators and a consequent breakdown of hockey relations between the two nations.
Both countries have since moved on but the basic premise remains relevant:
India might be head and shoulders above Pakistan but to win, they’ll have to stay level-headed given the team has a tendency to ditch their game plan if they get too emotionally invested.India coach Craig Fulton has warned his players against that, instructing them to ‘maintain a solid structure, manage Pakistan’s counter-attacks and dominate the set-pieces, both the penalty corner defence and penalty corner attacks.’
And if India heed their coach’s advice, Pakistan might need Rajini-like heroics to pull off a miracle.
Why India-Pakistan is a waning rivalry
India and Pakistan have played 178 times. Pakistan have won 82 of them, India 64 and 32 have ended in draws. The stats skew in India’s favour in the last 10 years, with the team winning more than half of the matches played.
During this period, India’s steady rise has coincided with Pakistan’s stunning fall. The reasons for their ceaseless decline are the same as India once endured: lack of finances, failure to embrace evolving methods and consequent inability to catch up with the rest of the world, and a rapidly-declining interest in the sport.
While India arrested its decline by heavily investing in the sport, Pakistan have not been able to do that and have hence missed the last two Olympics and a World Cup.
Things do not look promising yet although they have started to invest in the future, evidenced by the fact that more than half of their players here are aged less than 21.
By ASC Priya