India and Pakistan last played in a series during 2007.
Christmas, associated with gifts and family reunions, inevitably brings heavy symbolism to the restart of cricketing relations between India and Pakistan. But the captains of the two countries’ teams, M.S. Dhoni and Mohammed Hafeez, have however sought to divest the five-match limited overs series — beginning Tuesday in Bangalore — of their political undercurrents.
“It is a balanced series and the team that plays better will win,” said Dhoni while Hafeez stressed: “We are here to play good cricket.”
Nevertheless, when Dhoni and Hafeez walk out for the toss ahead of the Twenty20 match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, they would only be too aware that the ongoing, though slow, reconciliation between Delhi and Islamabad has paved the way for this series.
The five matches, two Twenty20s and three One Day Internationals, come after a five-year gap in bilateral matches between the sub-continental neighbours fused by history but split by the Radcliffe Line drawn in 1947.
India and Pakistan last played in a series during 2007. Back then, playing at home, India defeated Pakistan 1-0 in the Test series and 3-2 in the ODI series. The terror strikes in Mumbai in November 2008 meant that polite conversation and frenzied cricket between the two nations were abandoned for a while.
The two nations though did face off in International Cricket Council events. The ICC World Cup semifinal at Mohali in 2011 and the ICC World Twenty20 clashat Colombo on September 30 being the prime examples, and in both thesegames M.S. Dhoni’s men prevailed.
*This report has been corrected for a factual error
The Indo-Pak series could'nt have come at a better time! The Indian team
shld play in Pakistan now!
The series is a non-starter. When I watch the match, I also see:
1) A drooling BCCI steamrolling a neutral media and fans by charging them a ton
2) Dhoni yawning and taking his place behind the wicket. Then saying how winning the toss is the most important part of the match. Wake up guys, this joy ride is over - the success of the IPL is success of Indian middle class, not cricket
3) Pakistan team making statements. Indian team making statements. Like it is the start of a big bout of boxing. Followed by the Honorable Prime Minister, Chief Minister, and everyone in train calling for holding such bilateral series. The side dish on this multicourse is a bunch of innocent lives on both sides of the border, inadvertent victims of a proxy war which is waged by one on the other. Good work guys - wash your inadequacy as statesmen by resorting to cricketing diplomacy
4) Meanwhile, a gun goes off at border and a nameless soldier loses his life
But All is well in the end like for all SRK starrers
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