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It's time for one of the most fiercely contested rivalries to be renewed, once again.

By Saj Sadiq (2nd June, 2017)

Another of the "not for the faint-hearted" style games which have now become a hallmark of the classic and iconic India-Pakistan clashes will take place on the June 4 in front of a sold-out house of 25,000 people at Edgbaston.

These will, by and large, not be ordinary cricket fans out for a nice, quiet day to spend with friends and family, rather partisan and cricket crazy lovers of the game whose only goal will be to see victory for their nation.

There will be deafening noise when players practice, turn to the crowd, or even take a single!

Welcome to the high-octane world of India versus Pakistan where the idea of competing usually means an all-out win. A close game must have only one outcome for fans and niceties are left outside the boundary ropes by players.

Over the years, the encounters between the neighbours, whether played on their home grounds or at neutral venues have produced some fantastic outcomes. Whereas Pakistan's record against India in ICC tournaments would suggest a rather one-sided domination by India, the number of overall encounters between the rivals that have produced nail-biters is astonishing.

In 1986, the final of the AustralAsia Cup in Sharjah is one that produced probably the most thrilling encounters which Pakistan won by one wicket. Classed as the mother of all close finishes, this was a game where Pakistan were heading for a defeat at 215-7 chasing 246.

But then, Javed Miandad stepped up to the plate as was the norm in his career and pushed the game to a point where four runs were required off the last ball. Javed Miandad duly dispatched a bewildered Chetan Sharma for a six to win the tournament.

The psychological effect of that Miandad six was to last for many years and even to this day, is used as source of needle between both sets of fans. Miandad of course took great comfort in that match-winning hit and has not been shy to remind everyone that it was against the arch-rivals.

The intensity of combat is the only other way to describe the feelings when the two sides meet and an example of that was in the quarter-final clash during the 1996 World Cup in Bangalore, India.

While India won the game with some ease by 39 runs, the game will always be remembered for the now iconic spat between Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad and the fiery Pakistan opening batsman, Aamir Sohail.

Chasing a target of 288, the Pakistan openers seemed to be in the middle of a solid opening partnership in front of noisy and hostile home crowd. After hitting a boundary off Prasad, Aamir gestured to the bowler to fetch the ball.

The bowler, in turn, had the last laugh bowling Aamir with the next ball and let the Pakistani opener know where the pavilion was. Pakistan who were defending champions from their triumph in 1992 were knocked out after losing this game which resulted in joyous celebrations amongst Indian supporters and players.

The obsession with pace on the Pakistan side could only be matched by the high pedestal accorded to batsmen in India and an example of the best both could offer came to light in the group game of the 2003 ICC World Cup in South Africa.

It was Shoaib Akhtar, full of sound and fury and bowling at a lightning-quick pace who was confronted by the one-man cricket army in the shape of Sachin Tendulkar. But Shoaib was assisted by the legendary bowling duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and India were chasing a tough 274 to win.

"No problem," thought the little maestro as he tore through Pakistan's much-vaunted pace attack to help his country to yet another victory against their arch-enemy. Sachin's 98 from 75 balls tore the heart out of the Pakistan pace attack and it was another World Cup victory for India and more pain for Pakistani players and fans.

The world of cricket in the meantime had been exposed to another version of cricket which soon caught the fancy of many and seemed to provide a new angle to the India-Pakistan rivalry.

The Twenty20 format seemed to be tailor-made for the subcontinental consumption where heroes and villains could be made available at short notice and this format appealed to those who had an appetite for 'cricket-in-a-hurry'.

Whilst Misbah-ul-Haq recently walked away with his head held high from Test cricket as Pakistan's most successful captain, many in India and Pakistan would remember him for "that shot" in the World T20 final in 2007.

Like he was to do many times in his career later as captain, Misbah was in the middle of rescue act for Pakistan when he took the team to within 13 runs of victory in the final over. The Indian captain, MS Dhoni brought on a relatively unknown bowler in the shape of Joginder Sharma to bowl the final over. The rest, as they say, is history.

Misbah, after hitting a six off the second legitimate ball of the over, for reasons best known to himself, then played a strange and uncharacteristic scoop shot to pick out Sreesanth allowing India to clinch the title at the death. Pakistan and Misbah fell short of India by five runs.

The contrasting emotions can still be recalled to this day with Misbah slumbered over his bat and the Indian team close to him jumping for joy.

Pakistan's record at the Champions Trophy against their neighbour is just about respectable with a 2-1 advantage but history is no guide when it comes to future performances. Shots are being exchanged ahead of time with a raft of statements claiming advantage being made by experts and players.

Whilst some like Virat Kohli are claiming that the upcoming match is "just another" game, rest assured that when it comes to any India-Pakistan game, there is no such thing as an ordinary game. On the other hand, Junaid Khan is already reminding Virat Kohli of his average record against the left-arm pacer, who will be representing Lancashire once again later this year.

The fact that Pakistan are placed at a lowly eighth position in the ODI rankings indicates that the third-ranked India are in theory going in with the advantage in this key game. The penchant for producing heroes and villains in equal quantity is one that separates these teams from the rest of the world.

However, with most games played between these fierce rivals, it will be more about keeping one's nerves than actual skills which will determine the final outcome of the encounter at Edgbaston.

Birmingham will be the place to be on Sunday and the eyes of the cricketing world and millions around the globe will be on 22 men who will try to become part of India and Pakistan cricketing folklore.

Heroes and villains will be made, and whichever way the result goes, there will be gloating, pain, joy and heartache in abundance.

Discuss!