What the weather is
going to be like in Manchester during the marquee India vs Pakistan clash at
the World Cup has been one of the biggest talking points in the build-up to the
game ! Of the 12 editions of World Cup – India and
Pak did not play each other in 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987 & 2007 .. .. they met
in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2011 & 2015 – with identical results – in every
game (other than 2003) India batted first, amassed runs and beat Pakis
easily. In 2003, Pak batted first but
was beaten badly .. ..
It
has been a wet campaign this time - with
several matches at the tournament already rained out, fans of both teams would
be hoping that the match remains unaffected by rain. Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar said ECB’s lack of preparation for rain is
“totally unacceptable” and ICC should punish the hosts if the much-anticipated
India vs Pakistan World Cup match in Manchester is washed out on Sunday. Three matches so far have been abandoned
without a ball being a bowled, including India’s last match against New
Zealand, while one game had no result, the most in any World Cup so far and
there are predictions that rain may play spoilsport again at Old Trafford on
Sunday.
If one
were to ask – ‘what will happen if today’s match is washed out ?’ – I would say
– nothing, sky would not exactly come crashing down ! – it is a match, I have
been advocating that India should boycott playing against hostile Nation, which
has openly incited terrorism against the Nation. That way, today, I would not post anything on
today’s match !!
Sky came
not crash but Star could fall !! .. .. Star
India -- the official broadcaster of the ICC Cricket World Cup -- is fearing huge losses on the advertising front due to
these washouts. If the India-Pakistan match is hit by the bad weather, the loss
will escalate. Advertisers who have
spent significant amount of money for campaigns and advertisements during
Cricket’s flagship event, are now looking at a no-show for a lot of matches.
This is costing them as the advertising rates for the ongoing World Cup matches
were as high as Rs 15-20 lakh for a 10 second slot. Money Control reports that sponsorship
package for matches during the World Cup costs around Rs 40 crore on television
and Rs 15 crore on digital. For India-Pakistan match, the advertising rates
went up to Rs 22 lakh for a 10-second slot. The match is expected to generate
over Rs 120 crore. With such investments riding on World Cup matches,
advertisers are unhappy with the way things have been arranged. A better
management or scheduling of the tournament in July are few suggestions by the
disappointed brands.
If
reserve days come into play, the World Cup will get extended for another month,
which would lead to a logistical nightmare. Accommodation, travel expenses,
venue availability and broadcast logistics, everything will go for a toss. However,
most importantly, cricket fans will lose out the most as they have been
traveling to watch their favourite teams and players play. Anyway, ECB should have known their weather
conditions and should have planned better !!
Must we succumb to
building this game up beyond the point of hyperbole? Indo-Pak encounters despite hypes ‘maukha, mocha
– and the Cup’ – have always been one-sided in favour of India. Apart from the hyped rivalry there is not
much at stake. Still this is the most anticipated game of the tournament when the
fixtures were announced Steve Elworthy
revealing that the ICC had had 400,000 applications for tickets, and that they
"could have packed out Wembley four times over" ~ and that is the
reason this is held on a Sunday while the hosts played on Saturday.
Lancashire County Cricket
Club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club,
Lancashire have played at Old Trafford since then and, in 1865, played their
inaugural first-class match, beating Middlesex at Old Trafford. Cyril Washbrook
became Lancashire’s first professional captain in 1954. Our own Farokh
Engineer, the flamboyant keeper and opener played alongside Clive Lloyd between
1968-76. Years later, the left-arm spinner Murali Karthik too played for
this club. The immediate reference of modern times of this place would of
course be – ‘Manchester United Football Club’ the professional football club,
based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester; founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR
Football Club and changed name to Manchester United in 1902.
Old Trafford is England's
second oldest test venue and one of the most renowned. It was the venue
for the first ever Ashes test to be held in England in July 1884 and has hosted
two Cricket World Cup semi-finals. In 1956, the first 10-wicket haul in a
single innings was achieved by England bowler Jim Laker who achieved bowling
figures of 19 wickets for 90 run. It was here in the 1983 Semis, England
were tied by the bowling of Kirti Azad and Mohinder whose 24 overs cost only 55
runs. It was at Manchester in 1982 that Sandeep Patil famously moved from
80 to 104 in a single over of Bob Willis (6 fours struck in that 7 ball over !) The ground is in the
metropolitan county of Greater Manchester situate in North West England,
comprising ten metropolitan boroughs that include the cities of Manchester and
Salford. It is landlocked and borders Cheshire; Derbyshire; Yorkshire and
Merseyside.
This place attracted
industrialisation in the 19th century when the region flourished as the global
centre of the cotton industry. The recorded history of Manchester began with
the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium.
Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile
manufacture during the Industrial Revolution; the building of the Bridgewater
Canal in 1761 built to transport coal triggered an early-19th-century factory
building boom which transformed Manchester from a township into a major mill
town. Manchester's fortunes decreased after the Second World War; however
investment spurred by the 1996 Manchester bombing led to extensive
regeneration, particularly in the city centre. Manchester was the site of the
world's first railway station and is where scientists first split the atom, and
developed the first stored-program computer. Cottonopolis denotes a
metropolis centred on cotton trading servicing the cotton mills in its
hinterland. It was inspired by Manchester which has become a sobriquet applied
solely to the city of Manchester. Have read that Matka gambling flourished in
India – a wager on random numbers and that was on closing /opening prices
of wholesale cotton traded on Bombay Cotton Exchange……
Here is something on Indo-Pak World Cup encounters starting from
the lastest one !
In 2015 at Adelaide, India
300 for 7 (Kohli 107, Raina 74, Dhawan 73, Sohail 5-55) beat Pakistan224
(Misbah 76, Shehzad 47, Shami 4-35) by 76 runs. A Virat Kohlihundred and supporting hands
from Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina lifted India to 300 for 7, and the task of
claiming victory proved beyond Pakistan for the sixth time out of six in this
most intense of World Cup fixtures.
In 2011, India played Pak at Chandigarh – when Nation came to a
screeching halt ! - that win enabled
India move onto Semis at Mohali. Sachin
played a sedate knock to take India to 260 which was good enough for a
comfortable win. India 260 for 9
(Tendulkar 85, Riaz 5-46) beat Pakistan 231 (Misbah 56) by 29 runs. In 2007 at West Indies, both the teams
crashed out at the first round rather unceremoniously. In 2003 at Centurion, Pak set up a big score
aided by a ton by Saeed Anwar and came
the grand opening partnership of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar and some
solid batting in the middle. In Jun
1999 at the same venue, Manchester,
Venkatesh Prasad shone with the ball.
India made 227/6 – Rahul Dravid & Azharuddin making half
centuries. Prasad took 5/27. In 1996 at Bengaluru, remembered for Aamer
Sohail, Prasad showdown – India batting first made 287/8 – Sidhu made 93 while
Ajay Jadeja breezed with 45 off 25 belting all Paki bowlers. Pak culd muster only 248. In that
high voltage game, when Wasim Akram pulled out there was criticism.
In 1992 Sydney, India won – but fared not so well in the cup,
while Pakis despite initial losses, somehow qualified and went to win the
cup. India made 216/7 with Ajay Jadeja
46 & Sachin Tendulkar 54 – India bundled Pakis for 173. So another match, another win for India, if rains allows game.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar.
16th June 2019.
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