It is not enough to describe India’s game against Pakistan as the biggest of the group stage of this World Cup – it is so much more than just a cricket match. And there is a symbolism to it being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, just a couple of hours’ drive from Modi’s birthplace of Vadnagar and in his home state of Gujarat, a hotbed of support for his ruling Bharatiya Janata party. Under Modi, relations with Pakistan have become so strained that almost no visas have been granted to Pakistani fans or journalists to come to this tournament.
In World Cups, India’s record against Pakistan is absolutely superb – they have played them seven times and won on every occasion – and in my opinion that has been simply because they have handled the occasion of these huge matches better, and managed to control their emotions. Pakistan have beaten them plenty of times in other competitions, and memorably thrashed them at the Oval in the Champions Trophy final in 2017, but in the biggest tournament of all they seem to freeze.
