India-Pak: Cricket's greatest rivalry

On Sunday in Dubai, India and Pakistan will renew their sporting rivalry in another International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament.

- ARCHIS MOHAN

That they do not play each other in bilateral series is unfortunate, but hardly new. At least until the Indian cricket team's fractious tour of Pakistan in 1978, after a gap of 17 years, it was field hockey—not cricket—that stirred the emotions of sports enthusiasts on both sides of the border. Cricketers eked out boring draws—only three of the 15 Tests that the two sides played between 1952 and 1961 ended in a result, with India winning two. The Indian cricket team's tours of Pakistan in late 1978, and again in 1982-83, transformed the easy camaraderie that had existed between the two teams in the 1950s, when at least three players had represented both national teams in the bitter no-holds barred contest that would define the rivalry over the next three decades.

When the Indian team landed in Pakistan in September 1978, it least expected the cricket field to turn into a virtual war zone for Bishan Singh Bedi, India's captain. But that's precisely what happened, leading him to concede a One Day International from a winning position. He chose to do so rather than subject his batsmen to unfair umpiring, constant abuse from Pakistani players, and a barrage of short-pitched deliveries aimed at their bodies.