ICC World Twenty20: Border rivalry more than cricket: Ashwin

KOLKATA: As psychological thrillers go in cricket, there can't be a bigger one than this, bigger than the Ashes, bigger than the World Cup Final itself. And, as R Ashwin says, a huge moment, more of a border rivalry for fans than just cricket.
India are in their tightest situation in the longest time, facing elimination from the home World Cup if they lose to Pakistan today.
Even though Pakistan's head coach Waqar Younis is relishing this spot India is in, saying "we will take advantage of this pressure on India," confident-as-always India's  centrepiece spinner R Ashwin flicked aside the bigness of the moment and the huge concern accompanying it.
"If there is any team in the world that can bounce back from this scenario, it is India. We have been in similar situations in the past and know how to come out of it," he said, adding that emotions are for fans, players need to keep them aside.
Known to be a thinking bowler who plans his moves in a detailed manner before all matches, Ashwin said sometimes such situations trigger nervous practice which is ill-advised even though Pakistan for the first time ever, have the edge despite India being the No 1 ranked team.
So, Waqar is in a happy space. Boom Boom Afridi has returned "and needs just one more innings to get back into form," Amir is like a bowler possessed, pacing and swinging the ball as never before, and the ground beneath their feet is something the Pakistanis would like to carry home. From being in total disarray just before the tournament, to blooming with momentum, the turnaround has come at the right time for the visitors.
Momentum is key, Ashwin admitted. "Momentum is important and we have to pick that up from Eden Gardens," he said.
The stats are not in India's favour either. They went down to a dismal 79 at Nagpur while the Pakistanis scored the tournament's biggest total with a 200 plus score against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens.
"They run the risk of going out of the tournament and that adds a lot of pressure on them. As far as Pakistan is concerned, we are happy with our Bangladesh performance and if we can repeat that, we will have a good chance," Waqar said.
But Nagpur, Ashwin said, was just a bad day in office. "From here on if we go through, we will be more dangerous, than probably at the start of the tournament. In Kolkata, no team has an edge. We will start 50-50 with Pakistan," in a match where how one reads the conditions and tackles them will determine the outcome. 
Source: The Pioneer, 19 March , 2016

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