This match is now the biggest draw of the Champions Trophy. Talking of great rivalries in cricket, it doesn’t get better than India versus Australia. Ticket sales have been encouraging, and if administrators are to be believed, a near-full crowd is expected when the semi-final gets underway.
There’s a lot at stake for both these powerhouses of world cricket, each aiming to make the final of the Champions Trophy and give their fans the perfect present. The Indian fans’ hatred of the Aussies is palpable, if you go by the comments that I keep getting on my show. Take this for a statement: “We need to beat the Aussies to avenge 19 November 2023. It is still raw and we need redemption. The T-20 world cup was in a different format. This will be the revenge we have been waiting for.”
Australia, it is evident, are gradually becoming the new Pakistan where Indian cricket fans are concerned. Unlike England, who are fast turning into pushovers in white-ball cricket, India versus Australia cricket is now the real deal, and Australia the new sworn enemy.
This works well for us in India. With bilateral series against Pakistan a thing of the past as a result of the political chaos across the border, Indian fans, with their great appetite for spectacles, needed a new adversary. This is more so because Pakistan cricket is in terminal decline. Australia fit the bill perfectly. They have beaten India multiple times, there are some great match-ups in this contest, and Australian aggression on the field has become grist for the hate mill.
This makes it a marketer’s dream. Because cricket was and is the true national game in both India and Australia. When George Orwell said that ‘Serious sport is war minus the shooting’, this is what he was alluding to. These deep passions will undoubtedly be aroused again during the game today, billed by many as the match of the Champions Trophy. With former players going after each other adding an extra edge to this intense cricketing rivalry, the label might well turn out to be the perfect tagline for this contest.
And for India, the stakes have seldom been higher. Indian cricket needs this Champions Trophy win much more than Australia. For Rohit Sharma, this is about his future as India captain. A defeat could well mean this game is the last time we see him as India skipper. A win could give Rohit the licence to take the call himself. Just a month ago, India lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy. While Test cricket is a very different format, Indians often like a win in an ICC tournament more. Victory here, and Rohit will be on the cusp of back-to-back ICC trophy wins. It would be a rare achievement and no Indian captain except MS Dhoni can boast of anything similar. Rohit and his boys will know that. And needless to say, will do their best to achieve it for themselves and their fans.
Also Read: For many India fans, Australia are the new Pakistan