Daily Times

The stage was set for the finale before the final. A delayed start but nonetheless a jam packed house, filled with iconic personalities, drizzly evening and the stadium was stirring up with the buzz of scores of passionate fans. A lot was expected from the visitors after a poor performance in the recently held Asia Cup. After decimating Bangladesh and loss of India to the Kiwis, the hopes were at its summit and thus the stage was set for an impressive show.

Pakistan’s weak and unreliable batsmen recently found their touch when India’s biggest strength faltered against the spin and inexperience, making them vulnerable against Pakistan and putting them just a stretch away from being eliminated. Cricket pundits were of the view that after a big victory, momentum would shift towards the Green Shirts. The confidence that was shattered recently was there back again. Expectations had no boundaries.

It was a day for Afridi to finish on a high by achieving something that even the likes of Imran Khan and Misbahul Haq were unable to achieve (beating India in an ICC World Cup). It was a day for Muhammad Amir to decimate the opposition that could prove to be just icing on the cake, a fiery comeback after five years of hue and cry. Afridi’s fiery aggression would face Dhoni’s calmness as the Mission Impossible (jinx of not beating India) awaited the Green team. The trio of left arm seemers would prove to be a deadly combo and if someone like me was so upset, negative and desperate, even he started to believe and foster a glimpse of hope after Imran Khan announced that he would be there for the Green Shirts so that they could conquer this jinx of defeating India in a World Cup.

This was all a part of that sensational build up and hype that was created, but the pundits forgot to realise that it was more of a mental game than a physical one. Ahead of the much awaited and talked about finale before final, as always, momentum in recent years seemed to me the only uncherished and imperfect word in this buildup. Although confidence and momentum are important in sports, but I think an Indo-Pak face-off is an exceptional case in this regards. It has always been beyond that 22 yards. It has always been taken as an emotional war between the two neighbours.

For the two nations the World Cup, the biggest event in cricket and every team’s dream of holding that trophy time and again, itself doesn’t matter as much as a victory against the arch rivals. People across the borders take much pride in overcoming their arch rivals instead of winning a big event and if this sounds to be the situation of passionate and emotional fans ahead of the big face off, how could one expect the players to avoid such an immense pressure.

Pakistan versus India, regardless of ICC events, has always been a game of nerves. One who handles the pressure well, a good presence of mind, reading the situation well, moulding to it and adaptability; these factors have always been there and very well written on the wall. When you have more than 1.5 billion people around the scene, you can understand its very much unlikely to escape from the immense pressure. The stage is so big and the pressure is so immense that those little mistakes you carry out time and again without even realising it, end up becoming big blunders. Selection of four seamers on a sheer turner, Afridi coming one down when it was turning more than a yard, but it won’t be fair enough to put the entire blame on the captain and the coach. They must have something in their mind. Since it was raining there for hours, perhaps they thought  it might be helpful for seamers.

The point that I want to enlighten you with and emphasise is that when the arch rivals go head to head, it’s a different ball game. Afridi is never known for his blunders in captaincy. Though I have always had a disagreement with his batting style but as far as his leadership stands, he is known for his fiery aggression. I would be the first one demanding probe into any big loss and why not, but against India one should realize we have not been good at holding our nerves. Something that made him ordinary that day was the game of nerves. Something that let us down even having that momentum stuff was our inability to handle pressure. India have always been good at handling their nerves and thus remained unbeaten, that’s it. Indeed it was that immense pressure that led to the unconquered jinx.

The author is an MBBS student at Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad. He tweets at @shahaliijlal