DC Edit | India-Pak Contest Is A Damp Squib
There were more furrowed brows in the marketing rooms of the game and corporate boardrooms as the commercial value of the event, which draws more eyeballs in its 350 million-plus viewership than even the Super Bowl in the USA, could go down despite all the hyper-nationalistic and jingoistic hype that is whipped up
The frisson disappeared a long time ago as India-Pakistan cricket matches, considered the top marquee event, had lost much of their lustre over the years due to the increasingly one-sided nature of the contests. But this Pakistan team, dragged into the distressingly toxic geopolitics of the subcontinent, is to be pitied rather than censured as it went down heavily in Colombo.
There were more furrowed brows in the marketing rooms of the game and corporate boardrooms as the commercial value of the event, which draws more eyeballs in its 350 million-plus viewership than even the Super Bowl in the USA, could go down despite all the hyper-nationalistic and jingoistic hype that is whipped up.
Notwithstanding the flaming politics of the region, India-Pakistan cricket will go on because it keeps the cash registers ringing and the coffers filled with revenue from broadcasting and streaming rights. What is called for is a level of maturity among cricketing nations to keep the politics out of the sport and simply get on with promoting the game as an avenue for healthy entertainment.
The average fan on both sides of the border may still view the matches as virtual life-and-death events, but the administrators and governments can learn to keep the politics out of the game. It might even do the game a lot of good if the Indian and Pakistan captains were to shake hands at the toss and after the game if only to send the message that cricket is after all a game, purportedly played by gentlemen who have a duty to sustain its historical association with arts and graces.
As far as the match went, it was the innings of Ishan Kishan, once disciplined by the board for his attitude and his disdain for domestic cricket, that made all the difference on a pitch and in conditions not conducive to a free-flowing contest between bat and ball. Given the folly of the Pakistan batsmen who went hell for leather against the new ball, this was a non-contest hardly had the chase begun.
Considering Pakistan has beaten India only once in nine T20 World Cup outings, though only losing a tied match in a bowl-out, besides losing all three matches in the Asia Cup last year, this ran true to form. For the sake of the game, the true fan would wish for more of a fight, regardless of whether it is his national team that wins the match.
