The match that stops one billion people

The term ‘game’ feels insufficient when trying to describe what happens when India and Pakistan meet on a cricket pitch.

For the 22 players who walk on to Adelaide Oval on Sunday for the teams’ opening ICC Cricket World Cup match, much more than tournament points will be on the line.

More than a billion people around the world will be anxiously wringing their hands and holding their breath for the first delivery and for the 599 balls that could follow, in what is tipped to be the most-watched match in the sport’s history.

The match sold out in 20 minutes.

Those who missed out on a seat will be glued to televisions, radios or online coverage around the world, following the game ball-by-ball to see if India can maintain its unbeaten World Cup winning streak against their greatest rival.

Even Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is getting into the action and will commentate alongside Harsha Bhogle and Kapil Dev.

A Star Sports TV commercial ahead of the India v Pakistan showdown

Emotions run high and national pride is on the line any time the intense rivals play.

The neighbours have fought three wars against each other and have been rivals since the Partition of India in 1947.

Since their first international cricket encounter in 1952, this rivalry has extended to the sporting field and the animosity between players and fans can be fierce.

And while Pakistan hold the overall ODI dominance, with 72 wins to India's 50, it is the Indians who hold all the aces in World Cup encounters - having won five from five between the two sides. 

Among all their matches, there has been perhaps no clash with higher stakes than their 2011 World Cup semi-final in Mohali.

India won the toss and batted, scoring 9-260 before bowling Pakistan out for 231, securing a place in the final and ultimately the coveted World Cup trophy.

But the scoreline is only scratching the surface of the story.

The sell-out crowd of 35,000 at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium was nothing compared to the 988 million who watched.

Life ground to a halt across India and Pakistan on March 30, 2011, for the duration of the match.

Governments across most states and provinces in both nations declared the semi-final an official holiday, most businesses and offices closed their doors, and thousands of television screens were placed in public places.

Three people in Pakistan reportedly died of heart attacks after their team’s defeat.

The celebrations that erupted across India following the 29-run victory were long-lasting.

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Indian fans celebrate their 2011 World Cup win over Pakistan // Getty Images

Former Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar said given a choice between winning on Sunday or winning the World Cup, many would pick the former.

“It completely locks out 1.3 billion people,” Akhtar told a cricket show in Delhi earlier this month.

“The tension is unbearable and the players’ effort level doubles.

“We could never beat India in World Cup but, God willing, that would soon happen.”

Former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath said no match excited him more than the four World Cup showdowns he played in against Pakistan.

“That we won all four matches makes it even sweeter,” he said in a column for the ICC.

“Somehow or the other, we found a way to motivate ourselves that much more when we played Pakistan. In many ways, especially for the fans of both teams, it was the final of the tournament, no matter even if it was just a pool fixture.”

Explaining why his team had failed against India each time they met in a World Cup is difficult for former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

“The defeat at Manchester in 1999 still pinches me as I do believe ours was a better team than India. I still don’t know what goes wrong with us against them in a World Cup, but sometimes it’s hard to give any explanation,” he told the ICC.

This time, neither team will enter the occasion brimming with confidence. Defending champions India are coming off a long Australian summer which has seen them play four Tests, four ODIs, three tours matches and two World Cup warm-ups for just one win – against World Cup debutant Afghanistan on Tuesday.

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Kohli and Afridi are idolised in their respective countries // Getty Images

Pakistan’s preparation has been shorter, with just two ODIs in New Zealand – both losses – before their World Cup warm-up wins against Bangladesh and England.

India have the advantage of three months spent adjusting to Australian conditions, including three matches at Adelaide Oval, while Pakistan last played an ODI in Adelaide in 2010.

Both teams have also had their share of injuries and other concerns.

India spearhead Ishant Sharma was a late withdrawal from the World Cup with a knee injury while Pakistan lost star allrounder Mohammad Hafeez to an ankle injury and paceman Junaid Khan to a thigh complaint.

Fast bowler Umar Gul had already been overlooked for the squad due to injury, while Saeed Ajmal was not included as he underwent testing on his reworked bowling action.

Pakistan have also been hit by the first controversy of the tournament – before a ball has been bowled – with eight players fined for breaking a team curfew in Sydney.

As a result, questions abound over whether either team has the bowling depth and experience to go deep into the World Cup.

But India have the superior batting line-up, featuring the likes of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Dhoni.

It means Pakistan, who have lost 10 of their last 12 ODIs, will need runs from its frontline batsmen, including Misbah, Ahmed Shezhad and Younis Khan.

At his pre-tournament press conference, Misbah said he believed his team was capable of turning things around.

“I’m pretty excited about this team,” he said.

“There’s a batch of youngsters and a few seniors there and we could really surprise anybody at any stage.

“I’m really hopeful that we’ll improve our performance and we have yet to play our best cricket.”

Five places on the ODI team rankings separate the teams, with India second and Pakistan seventh, but all that will mean nothing when the 22 warriors pad up and prepare for the biggest audience of their lives on Sunday.

India’s key players

Virat Kohli: India’s top-ranked ODI batsman and a genuine superstar. Kohli was in brilliant Test form for India during the 2014-15 summer, scoring 115, 141, 19, 1, 169, 54, 147 and 46 in four Tests, but he has struggled with the bat since in the one-day format. His Carlton-Mid ODI tri-series yielded scores of 9, 4, 3 not out and 8 and his warm-up innings 18 and 5.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Kumar can swing the ball prodigiously both ways and just as importantly has a good record against Pakistan. 

Rohit Sharma: Sharma provides that much sought-after X-factor to India’s batting line-up. The two-time ODI double-century maker has proven he is capable of scoring plenty of runs quickly and a big innings from Sharma could put Pakistan out of the match.

MS Dhoni: Of the current India team Dhoni has the best record against Pakistan, having scored two centuries and nine fifties through his career. The captain remains in the Top 10 ODI batsmen but has struggled to find runs during the Australian summer, so will be looking for a return to form.

Pakistan’s key players

Shahid Afridi: A former Pakistan captain, Afridi still retains the capacity to take an attack apart, having smashed 67 off 29 balls against New Zealand earlier this month. With neither Saeed Ajmal nor Mohammed Hafeez participate in this World Cup, Afridi will also shoulder the responsibility of being his side’s main spin option.

Ahmed Shehzad: Pakistan will likely need a big score if they want to defeat India and opener Shehzad, one of two Pakistan batsmen in the ICC ODI top 20, will need to fire. He scored a century against New Zealand in December and a fifty in January.

Misbah-ul-Haq: Pakistan’s current top-ranked ODI batsman, the captain will need to lead from the front to secure his team’s first World Cup win over India. He has been in good form during the last couple of months, scoring a Test century against New Zealand and following up with scores in 107, 88 not out, 58 and 45 on New Zealand soil in January.

Mohammad Irfan: The seven-foot tall Mohammad Irfan will be leading Pakistan’s bowling attack after injuries ruled out more experienced players. His height helped him achieve plenty of bounce and his left-arm bowling also creates problems for batsmen.

World Cup encounters: India 5, Pakistan 0

1992: India won by 43 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

1996: India won by 39 runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

1999: India won by 47 runs at Old Trafford, Manchester

2003: India won by six wickets at SuperSport Park, Centurion

2011: India won by 29 runs at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Chandigarh

Head to head overall in ODIs: Pakistan 72, India 50

Last five times they’ve met:

March 2014: Pakistan won by one wicket, Mirpur (Asia Cup)

June 2013: India won by eight wickets (D/L), Birmingham (Champion’s Trophy)

January 2013: India won by 10 runs, Delhi

January 2013: Pakistan won by 85 runs, Kolkata

December 2012: Pakistan won by six wickets, Chennai

India v Pakistan facts:

- In three of the five times they have met in World Cups, Sachin Tendulkar was man of the match (in 1992, 2003 and 2011)

- MS Dhoni has the most successful record against Pakistan of any current India batsman, scoring scored 1208 runs including two tons and nine fifties.

- Shahid Afridi has scored 1502 runs against India, including two centuries and four fifties, and taken 38 wickets.

- The first ODI between the teams was in October 1978. India won by four runs.

- The margin between the teams has twice been four runs. In 1986, Pakistan won on the final ball with one wicket in hand, while in 1987 the teams tied but India were handed victory by virtue of having lost fewer wickets.

- India’s biggest winning margin by runs over Pakistan is 159 (2004), while the largest victory Pakistan enjoyed was by 140 (2008).

- Virat Kohli holds the record for the highest Indian ODI score against Pakistan – 183 in 2012. Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar holds the record for highest score between the two teams: 194 scored in 1997.

- Aaqib Javed (the current UAE coach) took 7-37 in a match against India in 1991, while Sourav Ganguly took 5-16 in 1997.

- India’s highest score against Pakistan is 9-356 (2005) and their lowest is 79 (1978).

- Pakistan’s top score was 8-344 (2004) and lowest 87 (1985).

What people are saying

India captain MS Dhoni: “How I personally take (playing India) forward is it's similar to playing against Australia, Sri Lanka or any other test playing nation because the moment you start thinking about a traditional rivalry and all of that, you're just adding pressure to yourself.”

Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad: “India-Pakistan is always a crunch game and everybody will be glued to the TV for that game. We’ve heard hotels in Australia are fully booked for the last three to four months.”

Former Pakistan batsman Javed Miandad: “I think the ICC did the right thing to showcase this iconic game early in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, instead of slotting it midway through the group stage. It will take off some pressure from both the sides and they will concentrate more on their remaining pool matches.”

Former India bowler Javagal Srinath: “The strengths of the two sides are immaterial when the two sides face each other. The keenness to win lifts the games of the players collectively – that will be the match to look forward to at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.”