IND vs PAK: Proud streak ends to underline realities of life

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IND vs PAK: Proud streak ends to underline realities of life

27 Oct 2021 279 Views Yash Mittal

Ever since the 12-0 streak got broken, I've been keeping a track of the Pakistani social media. From an ordinary cricket fan to the most prominent voices that cover cricket in that part of the region, no one could hold back their emotions after the Babar Azam-led unit broke the 29-year-old jinx.

There were tears of happiness, some couldn't even believe it'd finally happened. From Imran Khan to Sarfaraz Ahmed, three generations of Pakistan have suffered the ignominy of not beating India in World Cups.

So, when Babar Azam drilled Mohammed Shami towards long-on to complete the victory, it was not only the end of a painful ordeal for Pakistan fans, it was also a soothing balm to the scars accumulated over the years.

The reason why I tracked Pakistan social media and Youtube channels? It's not only because I wanted to see their reactions, it was an attempt to gauge the magnanimity of what the Indian Cricket Team managed to do over the course of the last three decades and to understand why this streak was special.

"If only I'd understood the magnanimity of it before October 24," was the first thought in my mind as I saw Pakistani fans recall the agony they'd suffered in World Cups against Team India.

"The scars are somewhat healed today," wrote one Pakistani with a picture of Babar letting out a guttural roar after the victory and my face swelled with pride.

"Pride after we lose in such a tame manner to them, seriously?"- I know this would be the first question in your mind when you read it.

My face swelled with pride because as I saw them reminiscing about the horrors of the past, memories of Team India scripting victory in a single World Cup game (50 over, T20) in these last 29 years flooded my mind.

We, humans, are a strange beast, aren't we? We always tend to realize the worth of something - a loved one or in this case, the 12-0 WC record- when it's long gone.

It's only when we no longer have the right to claim it as our own that we realize just how beautiful it was.

Apart from realizing the worth of what this team achieved over so many years, this past Sunday was yet another learning curve for us Indian fans that eventually all good things come to an end one day.

And it did come to an end in the most heartbreaking fashion this past weekend. From the high of breaching the 'Gabbatoir' in January to the ignominy of witnessing the 12-0 WC streak get smashed in Dubai, life truly came full circle for the team and its billion fans within a space of a few months.

And, while it still hurts, it is worth asserting that Pakistan pulled off a performance that was truly worthy of breaking the streak. 

It took an 'UnPakistan' like performance - full of calmness and discipline - from Pakistan to pull off an unprecedented heist; they were as calm as a monk and focussed like Arjuna. 

It didn't make sense, did it? But then, we are living in a strange world at the moment. And the 'UnPakistan' performance by Babar and co was just another reminder of the strange realities of post-Covid life.

Yash Mittal

Bharat Army Cricket Writer

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