Fever pitch in Bengaluru as India v Pakistan rivalry resumes, this time in football

India vs Pakistan. Pakistan vs India. INDIA VERSUS PAKISTAN.

Close your eyes, sit back… and if you’re of a certain age, those three words blur the distinction between past and present. It’s like those memories are playing out right now: Saeed Anwar’s imperious 194 in front of an enthralled Chennai. Sohail Abbas thundering in dragflick after dragflick into many an Indian net across both countries. Anil Kumble spinning a deadly web around the dustbowl of the Kotla. Sunil Chhetri announcing himself on debut in Quetta with the first of his 87 international goals.

The longer you think, though, the further back the mind takes you. Into the realms of historical record and our parents’ recollections. Growing tensions and a vitriolic political climate across the subcontinent have meant neither side have visited the other in quite a while.

The last time a senior team crossed the border was when the Pakistan hockey team made it to the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar — lacking the genius of the previous era, though, their stay fizzled out early. The last time they faced each other in a bilateral cricket series was more than a decade ago. Four years ago, a Davis Cup tie had to be moved to Kazakhstan. The upcoming Asia Cup and 50-over World Cup cricket schedules remain in the balance as the powers-that-be try to negotiate where it is acceptable for them to travel to.

But a bit out of the blue, they’re back now. Resuming their sporting rivalry in the city where Venkatesh Prasad politely pointed out the away dressing room to Aamir Sohail. A brisk walk away from the Chinnaswamy, their football teams will take the field at the Kanteerava on Wednesday evening. A new generation is about to see what India vs Pakistan on a sports field is first-hand.

Not that any of it is happening smoothly. In typical subcontinent fashion, good old administrative (and diplomatic) delays have ensured that the Pakistan team will now reach Bengaluru only on the morning of the match. Very recently un-banned by FIFA after a rather violently dramatic leadership battle in the football federation, this is Pakistan football’s highest profile match in ages – and they’ll have a morning’s rest to prepare for it. Pleas for rescheduling have (reportedly) fallen on deaf ears. ♪ Nobody said it was easy ♪

Where Pakistan are trying to rebuild their identity as a footballing nation, India are in the middle of making their case to be taken seriously as a modern football team.

But the sporting narrative remains in the background. Football may be a much lower-profile sport in both countries than cricket, even hockey: the history of their matches in this sport are not as interwoven into the two nations’ collective conscious as much as the other two. And yet, you can sense the anticipation. The anxiety. The dread. That feeling in the pit of your stomach that only happens when one of these teams visit the other. Speaking to the Indian Super League ahead of the match, Chhetri put it succinctly… “anyone but them.”

“Whenever before a Pakistan game, whenever we met the boys, the players, it was all hunky dory… even when I was in Pakistan. We were all fine. We were all friendly. They speak Punjabi, we speak Punjabi, it’s all nice,” he said. “[But] the moment the whistle blows, I don’t know what happens – and it’s for both the teams – it’s just by default, or automatic… it’s just the sense of anyone but them.”

Lose, sure, but not to them.