The 2024 T20 World Cup has begun and, among other things, it means that a match between India and Pakistan is around the corner. With bilateral series between the two sides on deep freeze for over a decade, the fixture has become the most anticipated one in multi-nation tournaments. India had notably not lost any World Cup match, whether it be the 50-over or T20 variant, to their arch-rivals until 2021, when Pakistan comprehensively broke that drought with a 10-wicket win in Dubai.
Shaheen Afridi broke the back of the Indian batting order by taking the wickets of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and captain Virat Kohli, restricting the 2007 champions to 151/7. Captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan then ensured that Pakistan finished off the chase with more than two overs to spare without losing a single wicket. Babar finished unbeaten on 68 off 52 while Rizwan was 79 not out in 55 balls. Rizwan recalled the circumstances leading up to the match and said that then-Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“We had never beaten India before that (in a World Cup). Ramiz Raja met us and said, you have to beat India. There was a long time to go for the World Cup when he first came in (as PCB president) but he had started developing this thought in the team from right then,” Rizwan said in an event in the USA, where Pakistan face the home nation in their opening match of the 2024 T20 World Cup on Thursday. “As we got closer to the World Cup he said, regardless of whether you win the trophy or not, just don’t lose to India. He used to say don’t come under pressure, and then would put pressure on us,”
‘Realised what we achieved only after we won’
The 2021 T20 World Cup marked the first time that Rizwan was playing in an ICC tournament, and thus the first time that he was facing India. Rizwan admitted that he didn’t really understand the scale of the effect that the result of the match had until after the event.
“India vs Pakistan always comes with pressure. People may not watch all matches in a tournament but this is a game everyone sits down to watch, regardless of which country they belong to. At the time we had Matthew Hayden with us. He put his arms around me and the captain and asked how we are feeling. The captain said that we have worked hard and now we leave it all in the hands of God,” Rizwan.
“For me it was all a first, whether it be playing in a World Cup or in such a big match. So I was feeling quite normal, I didn’t think this was any different from any other match. But when we won, that is when I realised what we achieved. In Pakistan, say I go for shopping somewhere, people won’t take money. Then I stopped going out for shopping because they just weren’t taking money from us, they were all commending us for beating India. Everyone I met was commending us for the win. Once when I went to someone’s room they had the match playing on television and said that they watch it everyday,” he said.
