With the Champions Trophy all set to begin in a few days, all the teams have started their preparations through warm-up games or ODI series. India is all set to take on their arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match on 4th June.
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India-Pakistan matches have always been extremely entertaining especially due to all the hype created around the clash by fans and media. India vs Pakistan is touted to be the biggest rivalry in world cricket and hence, all the hype around it is absolutely justified.
With political tensions between the two countries rising over the years, the rivalry among the people of the 2 countries has also increased. As a direct impact, an India-Pakistan game holds more importance than just the 2 points which are up for grabs.
While on overall record, Pakistan has beaten India many times, most of these victories have come in the 1980s and 1990s when the 2 teams clashed more often. When it comes to World Cups, India take the bragging rights as they have defeated Pakistan on all 10 occasions. In the Champions Trophy though, Pakistan have managed to win 2 of the 3 matches they have played against India.
With the epic encounter exactly a week away, the excitement around it has started to increase. This particularly stems from the fact that India have last played a bilateral series against Pakistan way back in 2012. Since then, the fans are given the chance of watching the not-so-friendly neighbours only during ICC tournaments or Asia Cup.
India last played Pakistan at the iconic Eden Gardens in 2016 during the World T20 wherein India thrashed Pakistan yet again. The Indian fans would be expecting no less. During the 2015 World Cup, the Mauka Mauka advertisements by Star Sports depicting Pakistan’s winless record against India at World Cups went viral and there was a lot of banter between the fans of both the teams. It helped develop the excitement of the match which was a record-setter in terms of viewership.
The Mauka Mauka ad is back again and how! Ahead of the eighth edition of the Champions Trophy, ‘V Seven Pictures’ has taken the Mauka Mauka series to another level. The makers of the video showed a Pakistani cricketer happy about India not participating in the mega event.
Also Read: Five lesser known facts about the Champions Trophy
It mocks Pakistanis who do not have access to news as all their TV sets had been broken when Pakistan lost to India. He was confident of a Pakistan victory till he finds out about India’s participation and is in disarray as he knows that his side won’t stand a chance against them.
The advertisement also takes subtle digs at Pakistan and their pro-terrorists policy while speaking of ‘surgical strikes’, ’fast bowlers Pakistan have sent to Kashmir’ and the punch line at the end wherein the Indian mentions not having to give proof of defeating Pakistan in a cricket match unlike in other situations.
The ad is over 3 minutes long and is extremely well made. It is set to take social media by storm as fans from both countries will be involved in heated arguments ahead of the game. Although Virat Kohli has said that it is just another game of cricket, we all know that this one is much more than that.
Hopefully, the encounter is competitive and lives up to all the hype which is being created around it. Till next Sunday, it is time to either enjoy or get involved in the banters. Either way, the excitement for the Herculian clash will be at its peak as usual.
