&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "T20 World Cup | ‘No rivalry; not equals’: Axar Patel and Sanjay Manjrekar on India-Pakistan contests")
India thrashed Pakistan in its latest face-off in the T20 World Cup in Colombo, beating them by 61 runs in a lop-sided contest to qualify for the Super 8s. While the hype in the lead-up to this marquee clash was humongous, the lack of fight from Pakistan made it an ordinary one, with the Indian Team walking over their arch-rivals with ease. Although the internet claims it to be the ‘greatest rivalry’, Axar Patel, the T20I vice-captain and cricketer-turned-broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar think otherwise.
On one hand, Axar, who picked up two wickets, including the big fish in Babar Azam, reflected on his dressing room’s view of facing Pakistan, calling it just another team, Manjrekar, known for speaking his heart out, said the Indian fans must move on from his obsession of facing Pakistan and beating them, as they are not of India’s level.
Manjrekar, who, ahead of the match, commented on the ‘no handshake’ policy deployed by the Indian Team for Pakistan games, calling it a ‘silly decision’, has now urged the Indian cricket fans to remain excited about facing opponents that bring something to the table and make the contest interesting.
Taking to his X handle after Team India demolished the Pakistani side, Sanjay wrote, “Can we as Indian fans now move on? And get excited by a match between equals, a match that showcases cricket excellence? World cricket will be in a better place that way…it’s up to us.”
‘We don’t see rivalry’
Speaking to the media after contributing to India’s success against Pakistan, Axar gave a blunt yet cold verdict on a ‘supposed rivalry’ between the two countries.
“See, we are seeing them as a team. So we are not thinking about these rivalry or whatever. So we are playing against one team, and we are just focusing on cricket,” Axar said after the win. “I treat it as one match against an opponent. So I'm not thinking about any rivalry or whatever.”
Meanwhile, this highly anticipated game saw India bat first after losing the toss and make merry within the first 10 overs despite an early blow. Ishan Kishan starred with the bat, smashing his career-best T20 WC score (77 off 40 balls) before captain Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube helped India post 175/7 in 20 overs.
Pakistan was never in the chase, having lost four wickets within the first six overs, including three inside the first two. Usman Khan played a lone handy knock but failed to help his team cross the line, as Pakistan got all out on 114, conceding the biggest loss (by runs) against India in the T20 World Cups.
