<p>If ever there was a medium to project the true dynamic between the people of India and Pakistan, it was cricket. </p>.<p>Remnants of hostility do exist even at stadiums, and have so ever since their first One-Day International clash in 1978, but out of respect for sport (and - to a degree - civility towards differences in culture even if marginal), seldom do you see fans go out of their way to show disdain or disgust or resort to violence.</p>.<p>That’s not to say the intensity is missing or masked, it’s all out in the open, but there’s an unmistakable obeisance to it. That same consideration will, in all likelihood, be witnessed when India take on their ‘arch-rivals’ in their Asia Cup opener at the Pallekele stadium on Saturday. </p>.<p>And, expectedly, the marketers of hype are dishing out plenty of gravy to make this already impressive feast even more opulent. But, the truth is, these games have rarely been cliffhangers worthy of puffery, at least not in the last decade.</p>.Risk-taking Rohit trying to find the right balance .<p>India have faced Pakistan ten times in ODIs in the last ten years, and only one game could be tagged a ‘thriller’. That - Shahid Afridi’s six in Mirpur which effectively ended India’s Asia Cup campaign in 2014 - was the last time the sides have had people on the edge of their seats. </p>.<p>As for the rest of the nine games, either India or Pakistan won by fairly comfortable margins, and the neighbours have won only three games in those ten contests. </p>.<p>So, cricket hasn’t been doing much of the rousing. Maybe some standout performances have offered a little push, but by and large, these games have been bland. </p>.<p>That’s not to say these aren’t big games for if nothing else, they offer bragging rights to the victors and their fans, something to gloat on social media for a while. </p>.<p>This game, though, is of particular consequence to the sides in question as they prepare for the World Cup. More importantly, their tie on October 14 is at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. </p>.<p>This game will offer the sides a chance to study each other in the open and see how they can strategise ahead of the marquee event. </p>.<p>While injuries to a few key players mean the entirety of their plan will not come through, it’s enough to work with since there are only so many weeks left before the World Cup gets going. And given how infrequently they play each other, this is as good a preparatory game as they will get. </p>.<p>Of course, Rohit Sharma and Co will have watched Babar Azam’s brilliance reward Pakistan with a 238-run win over Nepal a couple of days ago in the tournament opener in Multan, but coming up against them in the flesh will surely offer them more data than videos or acute video analysts can provide. </p>.<p>This is also a chance for coach Rahul Dravid to take a step in the direction of identifying personnel and combinations for the World Cup. Also, this gives returning players a chance to assess themselves and their bodies when the stakes are high and the lights are brighter than usual. </p>.<p>Speaking of spotlights, Shaheen Afridi loves a good stage and has a history of making Indian openers look silly. The left-arm pacer would be licking his lips at the prospect, as will Azam for he relishes showing the world that he’s as good as Virat Kohli. </p>.<p>Numbers will - and lack of gravitas too - show he isn’t, but this is about whether he can deliver for Pakistan in this game, not necessarily of legacies or of a discordant history between similar neighbours. </p>.<p><strong>Teams:</strong> </p><p>India: Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).</p>.<p>Pakistan: Babar Azam (C), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve).</p>
<p>If ever there was a medium to project the true dynamic between the people of India and Pakistan, it was cricket. </p>.<p>Remnants of hostility do exist even at stadiums, and have so ever since their first One-Day International clash in 1978, but out of respect for sport (and - to a degree - civility towards differences in culture even if marginal), seldom do you see fans go out of their way to show disdain or disgust or resort to violence.</p>.<p>That’s not to say the intensity is missing or masked, it’s all out in the open, but there’s an unmistakable obeisance to it. That same consideration will, in all likelihood, be witnessed when India take on their ‘arch-rivals’ in their Asia Cup opener at the Pallekele stadium on Saturday. </p>.<p>And, expectedly, the marketers of hype are dishing out plenty of gravy to make this already impressive feast even more opulent. But, the truth is, these games have rarely been cliffhangers worthy of puffery, at least not in the last decade.</p>.Risk-taking Rohit trying to find the right balance .<p>India have faced Pakistan ten times in ODIs in the last ten years, and only one game could be tagged a ‘thriller’. That - Shahid Afridi’s six in Mirpur which effectively ended India’s Asia Cup campaign in 2014 - was the last time the sides have had people on the edge of their seats. </p>.<p>As for the rest of the nine games, either India or Pakistan won by fairly comfortable margins, and the neighbours have won only three games in those ten contests. </p>.<p>So, cricket hasn’t been doing much of the rousing. Maybe some standout performances have offered a little push, but by and large, these games have been bland. </p>.<p>That’s not to say these aren’t big games for if nothing else, they offer bragging rights to the victors and their fans, something to gloat on social media for a while. </p>.<p>This game, though, is of particular consequence to the sides in question as they prepare for the World Cup. More importantly, their tie on October 14 is at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. </p>.<p>This game will offer the sides a chance to study each other in the open and see how they can strategise ahead of the marquee event. </p>.<p>While injuries to a few key players mean the entirety of their plan will not come through, it’s enough to work with since there are only so many weeks left before the World Cup gets going. And given how infrequently they play each other, this is as good a preparatory game as they will get. </p>.<p>Of course, Rohit Sharma and Co will have watched Babar Azam’s brilliance reward Pakistan with a 238-run win over Nepal a couple of days ago in the tournament opener in Multan, but coming up against them in the flesh will surely offer them more data than videos or acute video analysts can provide. </p>.<p>This is also a chance for coach Rahul Dravid to take a step in the direction of identifying personnel and combinations for the World Cup. Also, this gives returning players a chance to assess themselves and their bodies when the stakes are high and the lights are brighter than usual. </p>.<p>Speaking of spotlights, Shaheen Afridi loves a good stage and has a history of making Indian openers look silly. The left-arm pacer would be licking his lips at the prospect, as will Azam for he relishes showing the world that he’s as good as Virat Kohli. </p>.<p>Numbers will - and lack of gravitas too - show he isn’t, but this is about whether he can deliver for Pakistan in this game, not necessarily of legacies or of a discordant history between similar neighbours. </p>.<p><strong>Teams:</strong> </p><p>India: Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).</p>.<p>Pakistan: Babar Azam (C), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve).</p>