India versus Pakistan in T20s never fails to give us an emotional rollercoaster ride. From the first ever time they met for a T20 game in the inaugural World Cup (which India won by a dramatic bowl-out) to Virat’s miraculous innings in 2022, this fixture is anything but a dull one-sided affair.
Yesterday’s match was no different and became an instant classic in this rivalry between these two arch-nemesis. The game was swinging in favour of both sides every 15 minutes. When watching this thrilling match, I was so engrossed in the drama that I thought I had to watch it again to re-live the adrenaline rush. The highlight show of the match is on loop and goosebumps are guaranteed everytime.
The plan for Sunday night was all set, snack jars and the fridge were filled up the previous day. Every single needful was kept literally at arm’s length, not a single ball could have been missed. But as fate would have it, I had some urgent business to take care of and needed to go out. So the initial delay due to rain secretly made me a little happy. But then I thought of the possibility of the match getting washed out, no, I didn’t want to get my calculator out so early in the tournament.
I came back home when Rohit and Virat were already back in the pavilion and Rishab Pant’s catches had already been dropped 4 times. There was panic in all my WhatsApp groups with my friends. Everyone on Twitter had become an expert and was advising Virat about how he shouldn’t have played the shot that got him out.
But soon a partnership developed between Pant and Axar and my attention shifted to the Bollywood songs that were being played in the stadium. It was already all blue and the Bollywood songs made it seem like it wasn’t New York but Wankhede.
It was all going great when India was 89/3 in the 12th over and cruising towards a good total. Then Surya Kumar Yadav got out and it seemed like the internet was all ready with its memes of SKY not performing in the big matches. When Shivam Dube again got out for cheap, the Rinku Singh memes in Panchayat’s Vanrakash template started flooding in. It seemed the cameraman got one of these memes forwarded on his WhatsApp and started showing Rinku, who was sitting in the stands, more and more. After that, it just became about if the Pakistani bowlers could complete their hat-tricks. It was dinner time in India and everyone was thinking how to digest this epic downfall.
The mood at the innings break was like that of every RCB fan after an IPL. I received a text from a friend saying ‘Why follow Cricket anymore’ when doing the permutation and combination as to how India could still qualify for the Super Eight stage.
The Pakistani innings started and when Babar hit Siraj for the first boundary, the trauma of the 10 wicket defeat 3 years ago came rushing into my mind. It was already the second over and the commentary was all about how Bumrah had not been given the ball yet. They must have been vindicated when Bumrah created a chance immediately after coming and the ball was in the air and…it was dropped. Who was the culprit? It was Dube again. At this point Dube must have felt like Dubeyji from Panchayat, being bashed by Vanrakash.
When it was beginning to look like a day in the life of a RCB fan, SKY took a brilliant catch to dismiss Babar. He threw the ball in the air, his sky-high ecstasy was a reflection of the team’s intent. Rohit’s men were going to hunt down the Pakistani batters like a pack of wolves.
But then the momentum shifted in Pakistan’s favour and at one point they just needed to get 40 runs from 36 ball with 7 wickets remaining. The probability of India losing was 92%. But Rohit and co had other plans, they proved that when Aryabhatta discovered 0 he was talking about Pakistan’s winning chances. Bumrah bowled a magical 15th over. Hardik’s reaction after dismissing Shadab was all of us, khelna nahin aata toh humare samne mat aaya karo.
The match was heading for a nail-biting finish. My focus on the game was only distracted by a Himesh Reshamiya song playing in the stadium (Lord Himesh is over these man-made games between man-made boundaries).
Bumrah’s 19th over had all the Whatsapp groups buzzing again. My friends were ready to donate their life savings (LOL) to build a shrine for Bumrah. The ecstasy had become sky-high in the final over. It was now 12 needed from 2 balls. The whole nation skipped a heartbeat when the ball went up above the world so high towards the boundary from Naseem’s bat. We saw Virat flying towards the ball as if it were the last Chhole Kulche plate on Planet Earth. But luckily, it dropped a little short of the boundary rope. Virat’s face was on the camera now, a mischievous smile soon appeared on his face. India had mathematically won the match.
Indian fans got busy putting up IG stories, and Pakistanis started breaking their TVs and questioning their life choices, okay, at least in my head.
Along with social media managers, India vs Pakistan has been the most anticipated sporting event for all of us for generations. From Boom Boom Afridi to Boom Boom Bumrah, we all grew up.
