WT20: 'For players, it's all about keeping emotions aside'

KOLKATA: How does one encapsulate the

Indo-Pak cricket

rivalry? Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin prefers to describe it as 'border rivalry'. "This rivalry is huge, it's hard to say how huge it is... it's probably bigger than the

Ashes

," the world's second-ranked bowler in

T20 cricket

said.

"As far as Indians and Pakistanis go, I don't think they watch this game as a game of cricket. It's more of a border rivalry," was Ashwin's take. "They want to get one up on each other. The people put all their emotions into the game. But for us players, it's about keeping emotions aside and trying to play the best way we can."

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, though, sees things differently.

"First of all, let us take it as a sport. We have a sporting rivalry, a cricketing history. Over the last 50 years, it's been a treat to watch India-versus-Pakistan contests. It's been a treat for the entire world. We should all cherish that and feel proud of it," was how one of the game's greatest fast bowlers put it.

Waqar didn't miss the chance to play mind games with an Indian team reeling under the shock of an astonishing 47-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the tournament opener. It was his team which was feeling the heat till the other day, but the tide has turned the other way now.

"This is a big tournament. India lost the first game and could be out if they lose another one. From my experience of playing cricket for many years, I can tell you they are feeling the pressure. It's a huge worry for them and big advantage for us," Waqar said with a chuckle.

Ashwin shrugged off the pressure factor. "We are used to playing against Pakistan and have played a lot of matches against them. Every game we play is a pressure game. We are pretty much used to it and should be able to handle it," Ashwin reasoned. India's leading spinner stressed on the psychological aspect. "Cricket is a psychological game. I find it amusing that people say you will have to keep it simple, it's not. More often than not, it's a psychological game. Unless you're exceptionally talented, you could lose the psychological battle."

Waqar, on the other hand, is not worried about Pakistan's World Cup jinx against India. Ask him whether Pakistan's 0-10 head-to-head record against their arch-rivals in the World Cup (6 in the 50-over World Cup and 4 in

World T20

) will play on the minds of his players, and the coach says, "A lot of things are in our favour and we are more confident this time... history can be changed."