A T20 World Cup Final Between India And Pakistan Could Become Cricket’s Most Hyped Contest Ever

Could it really happen? Is it written in the stars that fierce rivals India and Pakistan will play in a dream T20 World Cup final at the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground?

After two last ball heartbreaking defeats to start the tournament, including to a Virat Kohli-led India at a heaving MCG, Pakistan’s hopes appeared forlorn until – in typical roller-coaster fashion for this traditionally mercurial cricket team – they started getting on a roll.

Pakistan still, however, required a hail mary in the form of the Netherlands beating South Africa, probably the in-form team of the competition. In one of the biggest upsets of all-time, continuing a trend in this engrossing tournament where the smaller countries have closed the gap on the powerhouses, the Dutch caused a major boil over in a famous victory to cause shock waves.

It is the latest cruel exit for South Africa, who are probably lucky the sport isn’t dotted with loud-mouthed talking heads like Skip Bayless to constantly label them as ‘chokers’, which is an unfortunate tag they’ve once again been labelled with.

It’s all fuelled the realistic possibility of India and Pakistan meeting in a dream final with the teams on a collision course on opposite sides of the draw. India play England in Adelaide on Wednesday, while Pakistan face New Zealand in Sydney on Thursday.

The potential for the bitter rivals to meet once again – the fourth time in recent months amid them not playing against each other in bilaterals due to political differences- has sparked a tournament that has been riveting for cricket purists but failed to captivate mainstream Australia with the tournament played before the peak season of December and January.

Attendances have been modest for non-India games with even defending champions Australia embarrassingly playing in front of sparse crowds. But India have cemented their reputation as cricket’s undisputed drawcard by repeatedly packing Australia’s famed big grounds as underlined by 82,000 attending their MCG clash against smaller nation Zimbabwe.

A throng of reporters from India have also squeezed into overflowing media boxes to provide much needed fervor and non-stop content in a far cry from matches where India aren’t playing. Some nations, including top Full members South Africa and New Zealand, have had barely any of their media contingent travelling for it. Thus there has been an imbalance in coverage though that’s hardly surprising in a sport increasingly skewed to all-powerful India.

The Covid-19 pandemic, along with stripped-back media companies, has undoubtedly contributed to a shortage of travelling journalists but, right now, that hardly matters with India still in the frame, while England and Pakistan are also relatively well represented with reporters on the ground.

The potential of an India-Pakistan final, which would somehow even surpass the surreal scenes of the 90,000-strong raucous MCG crowd from just over two weeks ago, has caused pandemonium and somewhat transcended the tournament.

Giddy Indian journalists, some of whom aren’t shy of cheerleading, have even successfully riled up players of opposing teams. “Great news for you guys if it’s the India vs Pakistan final. Look, I don’t know, we are just here to hopefully win on Thursday,” said star all-rounder Ben Stokes in response to a question by an Indian journalist during a press conference on the eve of the blockbuster semi-final between India and England.

If India and Pakistan prevail then Sunday’s contest could well become the most hyped cricket match of all-time. India and Pakistan’s sole World Cup final – in ODIs or T20s – between them was at the original T20 World Cup in 2007 – back when the format was mostly a novelty and the money-spinner and gravity shifting Indian Premier League was still nearly a year away.

The most televised cricket match of all time is reportedly India’s famous victory over Sri Lanka to lift the 2011 World Cup on home soil with over 500 million people worldwide tuning in.

Figures won’t be known until after the event is done and dusted but there is an expectation that an India and Pakistan final could rival that eye-watering number. And also most likely surpass the record cricket crowd at the famous MCG of 93,000 fans who saw Australia win the 2015 World Cup against New Zealand.

The momentous earlier India and Pakistan contest – probably the greatest T20 match of all time marked by maybe the best innings of all time from the most popular player of this generation amid a febrile atmosphere – has whipped everyone into a frenzy.

It’s not just passionate Indians and Pakistanis wanting their teams there at the end. Every pure cricket fan, deep down, wants this epic rivalry – laced with such heated politics in the backdrop only for the games to be played amid such stirring spirit – to re-emerge on the grandest stage of all.

England and New Zealand, almost forgotten amid the bedlam, have other ideas.