Politics fails to mask muted Dubai duel

On Sunday in Dubai, India and Pakistan faced off in the much-anticipated Asia Cup group-stage clash, a fixture long celebrated as cricket's most intense rivalry. Yet once again, the pitch told a familiar story: India dominated from start to finish, and that the fire of the rivalry is being kept alive largely through politics.

Events like the Pahalgam attack, ongoing border tensions, and the cultivation of aggressive nationalism have driven the nations further apart. On the field, this manifests in unsporting gestures: Indian players refused the customary post-match handshake, while Pakistan boycotted the press conference.

In a pre-match discussion on Cricbuzz, when the host remarked, 'India now have only the easiest match left in their group,' commentator Harsha Bhogle interjected jokingly: 'Easier than this one (the match against Pakistan)?'

Given how routinely Pakistan crumble against India, Bhogle's jibe landed perfectly, and it is hard to argue when someone labels these encounters "easy" for India.

The last real thriller between the two came in Melbourne in 2022, with Virat Kohli's classic T20 World Cup finish. Another memorable contest was last year's low-scoring T20 World Cup nail-biter, narrowly lost by Pakistan. Outside these rare moments, the matches have been overwhelmingly one-sided.

The head-to-head record in multi-nation tournaments underlines the gulf. In 14 T20s, Pakistan have won just three times -- the same number across their last 20 ODI and T20 encounters combined. In ODIs, they are yet to win a World Cup game against India.

After Sunday's seven-wicket defeat, one Pakistani fan lamented: "They don't even know how to play modern cricket. Whether you play with Babar Azam or these Salmans, nothing will change. Pakistan cricket doesn't have DNA anymore."

Ex-captain Shoaib Malik echoed the sentiment: "I'm not surprised at all. This match showed where our cricket stands. It's not a bad day; it's a lack of skill. We were once great at hockey, now we're at the bottom.

"Cricket is going the same way... Against big sides, we have no chance in any format."

There is a prevalent joke that Pakistan cricket, which has been a carousel of chaos for a while now, starts the morning under one board chairman and ends the evening under another. Coaches rotate constantly, captaincy swaps abound; even players struggle to track leadership.

"Our cricket has been stagnant for years. People come to run it for four months, then leave, and someone else comes in. It keeps going like this," Malik added.

In such disorder, it is impossible to match the standards India, England, or Australia have set. Once, the West Indies were dominant too; now occasional wins are newsworthy themselves.

Even Indian fans are growing weary of one-sided contests. Unais Thottiyil Yusuf, a taxi driver from Kerala, put it bluntly: "What's the point of watching the Asia Cup? There's only one team, and no competition."

In Dubai, many seats remained empty, reportedly due to high ticket prices. The one-sided nature of the opening clash could likely follow through to the Super Four rematch. While Indian fans will still flock to watch their stars, Pakistani supporters' confidence in their team has undoubtedly eroded.

The two teams may meet up to two more times in this edition, but if the performance gap continues, even political colouring may not sustain the all-too-familiar pre-match buzz in future tournaments.