Top line
A highly anticipated Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan, long-standing rivals in both sports and geopolitics, is set to take place on Saturday and attract millions of viewers around the world. It is the first time such a match has taken place in India in seven years.
World Cup Saturday. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI/AFP) (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Important facts
The India-Pakistan cricket match will take place on Saturday. 134,000 fans are expected to fill India’s Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad – but millions more from both countries, for whom cricket is an integral part of the culture, will be watching on television.
The rival nations usually play cricket matches at neutral venues – like the Asia Cup match last month, which was held in Sri Lanka because India refused to travel to Pakistan – and this is the first time since 2016 that the Pakistani team plays in India.
To further fuel the rivalry, India and Pakistan had wins and losses in minor games – but at the World Cup, Pakistan never beat India in any of their seven games.
Both teams are going into the game with momentum: they have won their two previous games in the World Cup tournament.
Tickets for the highly anticipated match were reportedly sold out within an hour, although the stands are likely to be populated almost entirely by Indian fans as travel between the two nations is difficult and Pakistani fans reported difficulties obtaining visas to attend the match to obtain.
Even the Pakistan team had difficulty obtaining visas, reportedly only receiving them 36 hours before their scheduled departure to India, forcing them to miss a training camp.
Despite the fierce rivalry between the nations and their cricket teams, some hope the game will provide an opportunity for unity: the Pakistan team was reportedly greeted with applause by Indian fans upon their arrival in the country, and the Pakistan team’s captain, Babar Azam, praised the arrival of India to make you feel like you are “at home”.
Cricket has been slow to gain an audience in the United States because it is broadcast primarily on cricket-specific streaming services such as Willow TV rather than major networks such as FOX and ESPN, Fox Sports reported, and Major League Cricket was only broadcast in the United States States introduced in June.
Big number
$2.6 billion. That’s how much the Cricket World Cup, being held in India for the first time in 12 years, could boost India’s economy, according to an estimate by economists at India’s Bank of Baroda. The India-Pakistan match is expected to account for some of the boost as fans are expected to fill their bars and restaurants on match day. Indian delivery service Swiggy “has strengthened our fleet of delivery partners” to prepare for increased demand during the India-Pakistan game, said Sidharth Bhakoo, vice president of national business at Swiggy.
Crucial quote
“That’s five times the Super Bowl. “There are few rivalries like it,” Farees Shah, host of the Shiny Side Cricket Podcast, told CNN, adding that “half a billion people” could easily be watching.
Important background
India and Pakistan are embroiled in geopolitical conflicts and have fought several wars since 1947 after the countries were divided largely along religious lines following the end of British colonial rule. Cricket, now a cultural phenomenon in both countries, was introduced by the British. Tensions between the two countries have complicated cricket matches: India and Pakistan have reportedly not played each other for years, but they have also held matches during conflicts, such as when they faced off against each other in the 1999 World Cup during the war. In 2011, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to watch a cricket match between their respective nations together, which was said to have taken place at a time when both countries were attempting to restart diplomatic talks. Matches between the two nations always attract large audiences – more than 400 million people reportedly tuned in to watch the 2011 World Cup match between India and Pakistan.
Surprising fact
Some fans needing accommodation for the India-Pakistan match have checked into local hospitals for an overnight stay. “We came across a few cases where people came to watch the India-Pakistan match while attending a health check-up appointment and staying in hospitals,” Tushar Patel, president of the Ahmedabad Medical Association, told Reuters. The Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association discourages hospitals from admitting people who do not necessarily need an appointment. Bloomberg reported that prices for travel and hotel accommodation in India increased due to the World Cup.
further reading
‘Five Times the Super Bowl’: Why India vs. Pakistan is a sporting rivalry like no other (CNN)
Full crowd at the Cricket World Cup: India against Pakistan in front of over 100,000 spectators (`)
The Cricket World Cup could bring $2.6 billion to the Indian economy (Bloomberg)
India vs Pakistan: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Match Preview (Al Jazeera)
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I’m an explainer and trends reporter for Forbes. Previously, I worked on Forbes’ Wealth team, where I covered billionaires. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 and spent this summer working on the Forbes Top Colleges list. Previously, I served as news editor for Penn’s student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, as well as a digital intern for NBC News and a foreign intern for Vox.
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