‘Crashing planes’, gunshots with bat: India-Pakistan game was all except cricket

During the powerplay of the Indian innings, Haris, after an expensive over and a seemingly abusive face-off with Sharma and Gill, moved to his fielding position on the boundary, where an army of Indian fans seemed to be jeering him. This was when Haris, after turning towards the stands, used his hands to mimic gun-firing and crashing aircraft.

Story continues below this ad

Earlier in the game, upon reaching his half-century, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan had held his bat like a machine gun and cosplayed firing a round in the air. With memories of the recent military strikes by both nations still fresh, the mercury rose in the stands and keyboard warriors on social media got into cross-border battles.

Farhan, at the press conference, justified his action and also the tiff he had with India’s new ball bowler Hardik Pandya. “It was just a moment of the match. Generally I don’t celebrate a 50 but today something came to my mind and I did what I did. I don’t care what people would think about it,” he said. About his confrontation with Pandya in the game’s first over, he added: “We need to play aggressive cricket, be it India or anybody … we should play aggressive cricket against any team, like we did today …”

Voices from the Indian dressing room told The Indian Express that Pakistan, hurting from the massive defeat they suffered earlier in the tournament, were unusually chirpy from the start of this game. “After the ‘no handshake’ stand by both teams, we thought they would go about their business without much fuss but they started needling us from the start. And in the heat of the moment our players too answered back,” said a member of the Indian team.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has maintained that it was Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, by mentioning the Pahalgam terror attack and his dedication of the September 14 win to India’s armed forces, who started it. Rameez Raja had said, “Whatever emotions you have felt, show it on the field, show what a great cricket nation we are. My biggest objection was what was said in the post-match presentation (by Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav). That editorial was the critical point.”

Story continues below this ad

Away from the field, even the India-Pakistan press conferences have become events to make a point. At Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha’s press conference, the PCB media manager didn’t give Indian journalists a chance to ask him questions, ignoring their raised hands.

Surya did take questions from Pakistani reporters but his answers, at times, didn’t have anything to do with the query presented to him. “Did you feel that Pakistan competed in a better way today?” a senior Pakistan journalist asked. “I would like to say something on this question. I feel that you should stop asking questions on rivalry… According to me, if two teams have to play 15-20 matches, and if there’s a 7-all or someone is ahead 8-7, then it’s called playing good cricket and it’s called rivalry. 13-0, 10-1, I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore,” he said.

Historically, the Indo-Pak contest has had a rough edge, but seldom a dangerously explosive one. There were a few volatile episodes on the field that were just a nudge away from escalating. Gill reproduced the Aamir Sohail to Venkatesh Prasad moment when he hit Afridi for a four and pointed his bat toward the direction of the ball.

His partner Abhishek, Man of the Match for his match-winning 74 from 39 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes, talked about the chatter on the field. “The way they were coming at us without any reason, I didn’t like it at all. And I thought that this is the only (answer) that I could give with my bat and obviously (contribute) with the win towards my team. That’s all that was going through my mind. I just wanted to deliver for my team,” he said during the presentation ceremony.

Story continues below this ad

Even in the past, India and Pakistan have played each other with border tensions or within months of a war but after a handshake and after de-escalated hostilities. A new chapter has opened in the saga of India-Pakistan rivalry, one that is built on acrimony and hostility. A potential third meeting looms next Sunday, if Pakistan and India qualify for the finals. The stakes would be higher, and the mood and tone of the game more hostile, and perhaps more bitter than any cricket game ever played

Click here to read article