By Saj Sadiq (February 18th, 2015)

The news from Pakistan and India is that things are finally returning back to normal.

The temporary viewing areas in public places and residential areas have been dismantled; banners with witty, provocative, emotional and patriotic slogans have been put away. ‘Fighting talk’ levels have also decreased and Indians and Pakistanis are free to talk about anything else other than cricket at social occasions.

Team shirts, hats and other paraphernalia along with face paints of national colours have been neatly packed away in boxes in case they are needed in the semi-finals or the final in the 2015 edition of the World Cup or, in some cases in about four years’ time.

Player of match Virat Kohli got 107 runs in India's victory over rivals Pakistan in their opening match in the World Cup.

Weary-eyed employees have also returned to work with jubilation or pain written across their faces, depending of course on whether they are Indian or Pakistani.

Any morning after that the two cricketing giants of the Asian continent meet at any level is usually a study of two different worlds. Sunday was no exception.

With India the deserving victors of a clash that claimed the record for the highest television audience for a cricket match, the reactions in India and Indian communities were predictably those of elation. For the Pakistan supporters though, this was a painful sixth time in World Cups that they had to swallow their pride and try and come to terms with what many regard nothing short of a national tragedy.

Given the number of times Pakistan has been on the losing end of World Cup contests against India, it would stand to reason that the fans of this cricket-mad nation would somehow be prepared for bad news.

But then, logic has never played much of a part in Pakistan’s national psyche and the country’s collective memory is very short when it comes to any matters related to cricket. This was certainly the case for the build-up to the match on Sunday which was sold out many months ago in the space of 20 minutes.

Such is the ferocious nature of Indo-Pak encounters that any result other than the complete annihilation of India on the cricket field would have been considered a shock for Pakistani fans. There was no thought given to Pakistan’s form leading up to the tournament or its lack of match winners or to the superiority of the Indian batsmen; all these were facts clouding fiction and Pakistanis on the street around the world were having none of this negative talk.

The social media in its various forms – Facebook, Twitter or fan based forums helped build-up this clash to the point where a victory was the only real option for Pakistan. It was therefore no surprise, despite the usual noises of “hey, it’s just a game”, that Pakistanis reacted with disbelief and at times with anger of comical proportions as they digested the impact of the defeat to their arch-rivals.

News reports of Pakistani fans venting their frustration by smashing television sets on the streets of Karachi may have been amusing to many neutrals, but for Pakistanis, this was a real display of emotion and one doubts if any one of those protestors actually regretted taking this action. Not to be left behind, the plethora of television analysts ranging from the superstars of yesteryear to the lesser known ones also had their day in the sun where they accused the team of soiling national honour sometimes in the most absurd terms. Of course it wasn’t all doom and gloom but there was also some comic relief in the shape of thousands of cartoons and memes that made an appearance on the internet to bring a cynical smile on weary Pakistani faces.

In a way, those living in Pakistan could consider themselves fortunate to have avoided the real life “needle” treatment administered to the Pakistani supporters residing in countries where they would come in contact with their Indian counterparts.

From Australia and the Middle East to the United Kingdom and further west to the Americas, both sets of supporters indulged in light hearted banter before, during and after the game in schools, colleges, universities or workplaces, with relations between communities of cricket mad fans never under any real threat due to this rivalry. Of course there were exceptions and isolated cases of violence as the one witnessed in Sydney where fighting broke out between both sets of fans. The rare nature of such occurrences is a testament to cordial relations fans enjoy in their adopted homelands which even the near war-like rivalry of cricket cannot effect.

For the Pakistani nation, this is a time of reflection and anger but there is also a realization that Pakistan is still very much in the tournament and with a bit of luck and courage, could proceed further. Amongst the more optimistic supporters there is a “gut feel” that Pakistan will have another chance to avenge its humiliating defeats against India by playing them again in the later stages of the tournament. Exactly what the reaction will be if India were to then knock Pakistan out of the 2015 World Cup or if the opposite were to happen is anyone’s guess, but given the strength of emotion in the initial stages of the tournament, this game will nothing short of yet another blockbuster for the fans.

Despite cordial relations amongst the players of India and Pakistan, the match remains an opportunity for the fans of the victors to gloat, to mock, to tease and taunt the fans of the defeated team, until the next encounter.

India versus Pakistan, just a game of cricket? – No chance!

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