An Island town stops to watch India and Pakistan clash today
Pakistan players offer prayers prior to their training session in Pallekele on the eve of their clash against India. (Image courtesy – Venkata Krishna B)
Since Friday morning, the town, with a population of only 1,11,701, has been buzzing, witnessing something new, with the inflow of cricket tourists from the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, bringing some parts of the town to a standstill. (READ MORE)
Pallekele Weather:: Cricket fans, their bodies painted in the colors of the national flags of India and Pakistan, pose for photographs in Ahmedabad, India. (PTI)
Over the last two days, Pallekele has been waking up to extremely gloomy conditions with dark clouds hovering around. Although the rain has stayed away since Thursday, the forecast was rather bleak for Saturday evening with 90 per cent of rain predicted till 6 pm. (READ MORE)
Don’t believe those who tell you that a India-Pakistan match is ‘just another game of cricket’
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (left) with India captain Rohit Sharma.
Starting today, India and Pakistan can potentially clash 5 times over the next two and a half months and these could possibly be the games where, as Wasim Akram writes in his book, life would suddenly turn sour for the losers. (READ MORE)
Asia Cup 2023: The model exams before the ICC World Cup test
India’s captain Rohit Sharma, right, and coach Rahul Dravid attend a practice session ahead of their Asia Cup match with Pakistan in Pallekele on Friday. (AP Photo)
Though this is the first ODI between these storied rivals since the 2019 World Cup in Manchester, where India and Pakistan were in opposite spectrums, the tide has changed. In the four-year period, Pakistan have grown from strength to strength in limited-overs cricket and in multi-national tournaments and have eclipsed India. For the latter, it won’t be a bad time to change the trend, particularly with the World Cup around the corner. Having dominated bilateral series at home, they have shown a tendency to slip in events like the Asia Cup and ICC events. (READ MORE)
