India-Pakistan relations are becoming more marginal and worse
In cricket and otherwise, India is leaving its old rivalry behind
In the build-up to India’s World Cup clash with Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14th, Indian news anchors spoke of “the greatest rivalry”. For once they were not exaggerating. Cricket contests between the South Asian giants have been their main interaction off the battlefield for three-quarters of a century. Into them each has poured subcontinental volumes of love and hate, nationalist chest-beating, aching for peace, addiction to the fray—and the wholehearted commitment of two great and fascinatingly contrasting cricket cultures. Even for cricket ignoramuses, India-Pakistan bouts are an essential window onto South Asian politics and culture. What, then, to make of the Ahmedabad match, which was attended by Banyan and ended in an easy Indian victory?
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Cricket and geopolitics”
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