The stakes are always high when India Pakistan play -
Feature
Sachin Tendulkar has finally reached his elusive 100th international century. It is a no mean feat, and it is unlikely that his record will be broken, much like Don Bradman’s envious average of 99.94. Players of the calibre of Bradman or http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Chinnadupargea-Sachin-c50607
are born once in a few decades, and anyone who has witnessed the ‘little master’ play, should be privileged that they have watched a truly great batsman.
But records are short lived in sport, and the most important match is the next one. If that match is against your arch-rivals, then it is even more important and Sachin would like to make a big score, now that the burden of reaching a landmark is done and
dusted. They say many things are like London buses; you wait for one for an eternity and all of a sudden two come along.
If people have been questioning Tendulkar reaching the landmark against the lowly ranked Bangladesh, the Pakistani players should watch out. Now that he has reached the landmark, he will be freer and the burden of 1 billion fans is over. He can free his
mind, and with his ability he can hurt the Pakistanis.
What makes the match even more interesting are the stakes. India surprisingly lost to Bangladesh in their last match, to throw the tournament wide open. Many had thought after the initial few matches, the game between India and Pakistan will be a dress rehearsal
for the 22nd March final, but not many more.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World Cup 2010, if they needed any reason to defeat their neighbouring country.
India would like to correct the Bangladesh result, and a win will pretty much guarantee them a place in the final, but a defeat would certainly hang their hopes in the balance. They will have to wait for the result of the final league match between Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka to know their fate. This is what makes this game so interesting.
A win for India, without a bonus point will hand them 8 points and the psychological advantage over Pakistan, if they were to meet in the final again. The onus will then be on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 to secure a win, and a win by a bonus will surely put them in the final,
and with the tournament happening in their own backyard, the crowd support could take them to the title.
If India loses, and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 will be hoping that they do, will leave the field open for them. In their last match against Bangladesh, they can win by a bonus point, and leapfrog Bangladesh and India in the points table by collecting 5 points.
The match on Sunday, March 18, was touted before the tournament started as the ‘big game’, the crowd puller and the match that everyone wanted to see. The result yesterday; India’s defeat to Bangladesh has added another dimension that will make the battle
fiery.
The only element missing is Sachin’s search for his 100th international century and the Indian fans in their heart would have liked their batting idol to reach the landmark against Pakistan, the team he made his Test debut against. Pakistani fans
on the other hand would have feared him reaching the milestone against them.
India-Pakistan matches are always fiery, full of emotion and the added dimension of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556’s search for the record would have made it even more interesting.
Both countries would breathe a sigh of relief that he has done it.
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