India versus Pakistan: More than just cricket THERE is nothing in the sporting world like a cricket match between archrivals India and Pakistan. Maybe coming close is a soccer game between old enemies England and Germany, or Brazil and Argentina. Some are joking that productivity will fall sharply on Wednesday among the Indian and Pakistani expatriate population here in Saudi Arabia when the two nations clash in the semifinals of the cricket World Cup: Many will fall ill with a 24-hour tummy bug, have a “family emergency”, miss the bus to work or have the car break down on the highway. Clashes between India and Pakistan come with so much baggage – there are the old wounds over partition; the skirmishes and wars; and raw feelings over Kashmir. Added to all this is that India has been edging out Pakistan on a number of fronts – including the rather sore point that India is now considered to be a major emerging economic powerhouse in Asia and the world. It is also not experiencing major political and social upheavals and natural disasters. It hasn't helped that some Pakistani players were banned for spot-fixing during last year's tour of England. Of course, the Pakistani players can wipe away all the agony and tears with a win over India. They will then have a chance to equal that momentous day in 1992 when Pakistan captain Imran Khan led his team to victory in the World Cup. Will the mercurial Shahid Afridi, the current captain and leading wicket-taker, be able to match that achievement by beating India and also the winner of the semifinal between Sri Lanka and New Zealand? Then again, India can also wipe out her own memories of sporting scandals – corruption in cricket and the recently-held Commonwealth Games – by winning the World Cup for the first time since Kapil Dev did it in 1983. Having the game in the border state of Punjab, with top Pakistani government officials being guests of the Indian government, makes it all the more intriguing. And who knows, perhaps there is a happy ending for both sides from this game. Along with recent moves to talk peace, maybe it is the start of a new era of cooperation and understanding between these two great nations. __
