India Flex Muscle On And Off Field Over Rival Pakistan In Cricket’s Most Lucrative Contest

When India and Pakistan meet on the cricket field, the stakes are amplified to an extent that perhaps is unparalleled in sports.

Given the intense political situation for the nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought three wars against each other since becoming independent nations in 1947, they sadly rarely play each other in cricket.

Only in major events do they clash with administrators doing everything they can to milk this ridiculously hyped contest.

It’s easy to see why. Previous contests between the arch-rivals over the past decade have been watched by a viewership of between 300 million to 500 million.

In other words, it’s cricket’s money-spinner but means so much more for these well populated countries, combining more than 1.6 billion people many of whom are cricket obsessed. Matches between the countries affects the national psyche of the countries and used as a political football by the warring governments.

The politicking was well and truly in force for the India-Pakistan blockbuster in Ahmedabad on Saturday in a headliner of the World Cup’s early stages. The match was Pakistan’s first in India in seven years.

This marquee contest, which stops the entire cricket world and evokes fascination for the global media, was an opportune moment for emerging powerhouse India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flex its political muscle.

It was little surprise that the match was held at the mega 132,000-seat, aptly named, Narendra Modi Stadium. There was a rather pompous ceremony held before the game, which was all a bit strange for a group game amid the tournament’s bloated scheduling.

Senior politicians and cricket’s most influential administrators dotted the ground amid a sea of blue as basically the entire crowd of around 120,000 fans – a record for a cricket match – supported India, who lived up to their favouritism with a seven-wicket thumping in an anti-climax.

The partisan crowd was no surprise given Pakistan fans have been all but blocked from attending. Inevitably, given the icy relations, there has been ugliness in the background.

Pakistani journalists have mostly not yet been granted visas to cover the event and there was controversy when a popular female presenter walked away from her role on the official broadcast and abruptly left the country.

The Pakistan team had themselves endured visa delays to India in the aftermath of a tense standoff with Pakistan at one point threatening a boycott of the tournament.

Jay Shah, Indian cricket’s all-powerful boss, is the Home Minister Amit Shah’s son with the department responsible for vetting visa applications.

Shah, who essentially rules cricket with an iron fist, was unsurprisingly in the terraces amid the bedlam and surely giddy over India’s crushing victory over their rival with the whole world watching.

A one-sided contest didn’t look likely initially. When the match finally got underway, as all the bickering and bad blood was put to the background momentarily, Pakistan’s top-order were able to subdue a rowdy Indian crowd.

They looked set for a strong total until losing their last eight wickets for just 36 runs to be bowled out for a lowly 191.

It proved nowhere near enough with India captain Rohit Sharma continuing his commanding form with 86 from 63 balls to spearhead his team’s third straight win with almost 20 overs to spare. India have remarkably won all eight games against Pakistan in the tournament’s history.

When Shreyas Iyer hit the winning runs, triggering a deafening crescendo and cementing his team’s title credentials, India had well and truly flexed their muscle on the field to fittingly cap a grandiose spectacle that had ripple effects well beyond cricket.