The rivalry between India and Pakistan in cricket is one of the most intense sports rivalries in the world. The hype which takes place in any encounter between the arch-rivals is humungous. One could say that any Indo-Pak is expected to be a high-octane affair with millions of fans watching from across the globe. This rivalry carries the pressure to win which affects both youngsters and seniors equally.
Speaking about the similar experience, India all-rounder Vijay Shankar recalled how he got his first taste of an India-Pakistan game. Talking on Bharat Army podcast, Shankar revealed an incident when a Pakistan fan abused Indian players while they were out for coffee ahead of the clash in Manchester.
Shankar said the Pakistani fan was also recording the whole incident and the Indian players did not react.
“Few of us players had gone out for coffee one day before the game, when a Pakistan fan came up to us and he was literally abusing us. So that was my first experience of an India-Pakistan game,” said Shankar.
“We just had to take it. He was abusing us and recording everything, so we couldn’t react. All we could do was sit and watch what he was doing,” he added.
Incidentally, Shankar played his World Cup game against Pakistan and started pretty well as he ended up earning a wicket on the very first delivery he bowled in the tournament. Shankar sent Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq back to the pavilion on his very first ball.
In the match, Rohit Sharma shimmered with the willow for ‘Men in Blue’ as he smashed a brilliant knock of 140 runs to guide India to a strong total of 336/5. KL Rahul (57) and captain Virat Kohli (77) also slammed fifties.
In reply, Indian bowlers restricted Pakistan to 212 and won the contest by a huge margin of 89 runs via DLS method. Shankar eventually got one more wicket of Pakistani skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed. Apart from him, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav also bagged two wickets each.
