It is one of many largest fixtures in world sport, and but it is turning into one thing of a well-recognized one.
Sides representing India and Pakistan have met on every of the previous three weekends, with the previous’s males’s aspect racking up three consecutive wins in opposition to their rivals on their approach to the Asia Cup title.
This Sunday it is the flip of the nations’ girls’s groups, who face off in Colombo within the group stage of the Girls’s World Cup.
India go into the match having comfortably beaten Sri Lanka of their opening fixture, whereas Pakistan endured a chastening defeat by Bangladesh.
The matches between the lads’s sides had been ill-tempered affairs, with the groups not shaking arms and captains not participating with each other on the toss, in opposition to a backdrop of political tensions between the 2 international locations.
Regardless of India being the World Cup hosts, all of Pakistan’s fixtures are being held within the Sri Lankan capital with neither nation prepared to compete on one another’s soil.
The 2 girls’s sides had beforehand loved good relations, with gamers from each groups posing for a photo with the child of Pakistan captain Bismah Mahroof on the 2022 World Cup.
However each camps refused to be drawn on relations between the perimeters for Sunday’s sport, with Indian representatives refusing questions on the topic.
“Clearly, our important objective is to play, our focus is just on the sport,” mentioned Pakistan captain Fatima Sana.
“We attempt to preserve wholesome relationships with each group. No matter comes within the spirit of the sport, we attempt to keep that.
“What occurred earlier than, like with Bismah’s daughter when everybody mingled and loved collectively – as gamers, all of us like such moments. However the primary factor is to remain targeted on what we’ve got come right here for.”
Sana shall be hoping her aspect can bounce again from their seven-wicket defeat by Bangladesh, however face a stern check from an India aspect that’s among the many match favourites.
“You possibly can’t choose your group based mostly on one match. We won’t suppose that one unhealthy sport defines us, mentioned Sana.
“We all know that when it is India vs Pakistan, the entire world is watching. So sure, there’s stress, however the primary factor is how we deal with it.”
Whether or not the world will get to look at something is one other query – Saturday’s sport between Sri Lanka and Australia in Colombo was rained off without a ball bowled, and the forecast stays poor.
However ought to the match go forward, relations exterior the dressing rooms could once more draw focus from the motion on the sector.
