International cricket’s most intense rivalry is back after nearly a year in cold storage
Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla18-Jun-2010International cricket’s most intense rivalry is back after nearly a year in cold storage. A glut of matches in the middle of the previous decade had taken the edge off, perhaps reaching its lowest ebb during a drab series on lifeless pitches when Pakistan visited India in late 2007. That contest had a famous flash point in Kanpur, when two men with volatile temperaments clashed – Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi had a verbal spat, after which the two players collided when Gambhir was going for a single leading to another heated argument.At that stage, Gambhir was an angry young man still trying to establish himself in the Indian side after a stop-start career over five years, while Afridi was the senior most player in the Pakistan team, reportedly sulking over being passed up for captaincy and for whom maturity seemed forever elusive.Today, Gambhir has made himself a vital part of the Indian batting machine in all formats; a versatile player capable of playing in second gear or fifth. Coach Gary Kirsten helped him shed his insecurity about his place in the XI; a dream run of eight centuries in 13 Tests lifted him to the No. 1 ranking, and the weakness outside off stump which made people question his ability at the international level has been ironed out.In a line-up lacking the experience of Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, he has already spoken of the extra pressure on him at the top of the order, stressing after the Bangladesh victory that one of the top three needs to play a long innings for the team to succeed on the trying Dambulla track.Afridi, meanwhile, has emerged as the most important player in Pakistan, elevated to captain even in a format he hasn’t played for four years, and charged with the weighty responsibility of keeping together a dressing-room pulling in different directions.His storied career has seen a few more highs and lows, from the sobered down batting allied with canny legspin that fetched him Man-of-the-Match awards in the semi-finals and finals of Pakistan’s glorious 2009 World Twenty20 campaign, to the infamous ball-biting incident of abysmal Australian tour.Importantly, in a tournament where the quality of floodlights has grabbed as many headlines as the play on the field, both batsmen have already played substantial innings batting second.Gambhir was happy that the easy opener against Bangladesh means defeat in the pressure-cooker match against Pakistan won’t be the end of the tournament for India. “It’s an important match, more pressure will be on Pakistan since its do-or-die for them,” he said. “We will try and continue the momentum gained from the win against Bangladesh. Playing Pakistan is a big game. Hopefully we will deliver the goods.”The good news for Pakistan was that during practice Afridi showed no signs of the cramps that hampered him as he carved out a classic one-day innings in the tournament’s first match. His practice was a carefree hitting session, carting the Sri Lankan net bowlers and his team-mates around.Unlike the previous time these two sides clashed, in the Champions Trophy in South Africa last September, when several Pakistan players were quite vocal about how badly they wanted to beat India, the build-up to this match has been somewhat subdued. Afridi did not join in the hype that precedes every India-Pakistan clash. “We know what to expect from India – we need to be at the top of our game to compete,” he dead-batted to the media.Afridi has played against India more often than any other team in one-dayers, playing them everywhere from Abu Dhabi to Toronto, but it’s unlikely he has done so in front of an empty stadium. The stands were nearly deserted during the India-Bangladesh game, and in an effort to avoid a repeat for what should be a keenly followed match on television, the organisers have allowed spectators free entry into most sections of the stands.