Now it’s time to get into one of the best rivalry is sports. Being two similar nations with largely religion keeping them apart, a certain degree of emotion is involved when ever these two teams meet. Some believe a win between the two is like winning a war, others just enjoy the level of play and determination that comes out of each player when playing against each other. Personally, I love the nerve cracking matches these teams play which is always exciting to the last ball played. I want to focus on some very important matches between these nations that influenced cricket in general.
The match no one thought Pakistan could win was like a miracle out of no where. A hard fought series with India
looking for the win and drawing the series, and Pakistan looking to clinch. India had the opportunity to put the game away in
the last innings but Javed Miandad and Imran Khan thought otherwise.
“The match had seemed to be heading for a draw really. The Indians batted the final day with Sunny scoring a brilliant ton,
and when we went out to bat after tea, we had to make 164 to win in about 25 overs. It seemed difficult but the chase at
Lahore [second Test] had helped us.
The atmosphere was simply electric. The crowd had built up through the day and it was just amazing. Asif Iqbal was promoted
to open - a good move - and Javed Miandad went in one-down. I remember most the running between the wickets between Javed
and Asif - it was unbelievable. They were conjuring runs out of nothing and the Indians looked like they didn't know what
to do. There weren't as many boundaries in the innings as you would expect. It was like one-day running but ahead of its
time.
Then when Asif was out, no one really worried that much. Imran went in and very calmly swatted Bishan Bedi for two sixes
and a four in an over to seal it. The crowd and the players just went crazy. It was amazing to be a part of something
like that.”(Abbas).
This next test match will never be forgotten since its absolute significance to cricket. An excerpt from
“ The Birth of Reverse Swing” by Sambit Bal.
“…the match was significant for the performance of one man - Imran Khan took 11 wickets, eight of them in the
second innings, five in the space of 25 balls, and the legend of reverse-swing was born. Sarfraz Nawaz is credited as
being the earliest exponent of reverse-swing, but on that third afternoon of the Karachi Test, Imran gave the most
fearsome exhibition of the art which was yet to acquire a name.
India, trailing by 283 runs, would have nurtured faint hopes of saving the game as Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar
took them to 102 for 1 shortly after tea. The new ball had been negotiated comfortably and the only wicket to fall,
that of Arun Lal, had been claimed by Abdul Qadir. But Imran returned for his second spell with a semi-old ball and,
aided by a strong wind, produced prodigious late swing at a blistering pace that left the Indian batsmen numb.
Gavaskar was the first to go, bowled through the gate, and it signalled a procession. India ended the day at 118 for 7,
and of Imran's five victims, four were bowled and only Mohinder Amarnath managed to get his front pad in the way. This was
the spell that decided the series….”(Bal).
Imran Khan had just created an art of bowling used but not known by any other and used it magnificently. The reverse swing
is best summed by this definition “This particular delivery, delivered from a shade wide of the crease, holding a line on
off stump, drifting a shade out and then at the very last instant swinging in viciously,..”(). This little secret Imran
uncovered crushed India’s chance of winning the game.
I can go on pages and pages of events that occurred between these teams that were just merely impossible and happened
, but I hope my point is clearly made. Eventhough I've shown a "Pro Pakistani" outlook these teams have it in for each other whenever they meet and it’s good for the game,
the fans, and all critics watching.