I'm one of those sports fans who needs to watch the game live to properly enjoy it. There are lots of words used to describe us - obsessive, perhaps, or even crazy - but most strike me as compliments. Sometimes, I have to go to great lengths to fulfill this need. For example, I have to wake up at 6 a.m. every other day to stay current with cricket. It's nothing new for me, though. I had to do roughly the same back home to watch American "cricket," or baseball to folks here.
In the next few minutes, I hope I can convince you to adopt, for one morning only, the ways of the Cricket Crazy Clan as your own. Because this Sunday morning, around 10 a.m., Pakistan and India are facing off in the International Cricket Council World T20 tournament. Of course, anyone with an appreciable knowledge of world geography can determine that this would probably be a big deal. Well, it's not.
It's a huge deal.
I'm hoping the game will be screened somewhere on campus, because the atmosphere in that imaginary room would be absolutely incredible. Think Yankees and Red Sox, only both sides are still actually competitive. Moreover, unlike the Yanks-Sox game, this extravaganza doesn't take place 19 times a year. The matchup is one of cricket's preeminent rivalries, a gem made more valuable by its rarity. The oddities of organized international cricket, coupled with the see-saw political relations between the two South Asian neighbors, mean that the teams sometimes don't see each other for over a year. So when they square off, the cricket world stops and takes notice.
Pakistan has a winning record against India in every format of cricket except for T20s. But Pakistan's Greens emerged victorious in the warm-up game played between the two sides over a week ago.
Both teams are in form, having cruised into the Super Eight stage of the tournament. The key factor, I believe, will be experience. Pakistan has the most T20 wins (34) since the format was introduced seven years ago, whereas the Indians have only played 29 competitive games since then. Granted, on an individual level, the Indian players have a lot of games under their belt, thanks mostly to the Indian Premier League. But cricket is a team game. It's about gelling together as a unit. In that regard, Pakistan has the upper hand.
The game promises to showcase cricket at its finest, in terms of both quality and competitiveness. So it's a good way to discover a sporting culture that is treated as a way of life by many people across the globe. And contrary to what you may have heard, not every game is played over five days. In fact, the one on Sunday should be finished within three hours - quicker than the typical Yankees-Red Sox duel. In short, you can expect a fast, clean, competitive game with a nail-biting finish. Go Greens!
ADVERTISEMENT
