South Asian rivals India and Pakistan have never been face to face in any of the World Cup finals, thanks to the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup producing such a rare spectacle and expecting that the match goes down to the wire. Another interesting fact associated with the game at the World Cup is that Pakistan has never won a contest against India. Will Pakistan be able to scrub down the World Cup jinx or will it again be India to latch on to its past glory? Furthermore, two countries with same race, similar people, resembling culture and almost equal passion for the cricketing sport has indeed proven to be a far superior way of keeping them together than politics.
Both the two teams evenly poised miss their key players under new captains as India is without Tendulkar, Dravid and Zaheer while Pakistan misses Inzamam, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib, still inspiring youngsters have thrived on in taking the responsibility, as the game itself, is all about handling pressure. Earlier, India defeated Australia by 15 runs in a thrilling floodlit semi-final while Pakistan overcame New Zealand by six wickets.
A disastrous World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year has left today’s final predominantly appealing with frantic fans craving for their team to win. Unquestionably it gets no bigger game than India versus Pakistan, but the fans also need to take victory and defeat in their stride. Let’s also hope it doesn’t go the way, as the World Cup final.
Via: BBC
