* * *

For all of us who live in Dubai, who had traveled to different parts of the world from Bangalore to Mohali, Colombo, Birmingham, Adelaide, and Manchester over the years to watch Pakistan battle India in a World Cup game, the daddy of all cricket matches was now coming home to us.

The schedule of the T20 World Cup was announced and 24th October 2021 was marked in everyone's calendar. 

And the wait for the tickets started.

When the first batch of tickets was launched, there was some disappointment. Five of us were on a conference call, all trying to buy tickets for Pakistan vs India, and after 2 hours of waiting and clicking we were left empty handed.

When the second batch of tickets was released, we were at it again.

And we struck gold, thanks to one friend, who spent a tireless hour and a half clicking on "buy tickets", till his transactions finally went through!

We had 6 tickets for the match.

We managed 4 more tickets through another friend's contact in Pakistan. 

But all tickets were spread out in different sections of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Excitement and anxiety for the game was increasing by the day.

And then with a day to go, all chaos hit the roof! What time will we leave. Who will go in which car. Where will we park. Who will sit on which seats. Who will find others to swap seats with. There were too many logistical challenges.

A million phone calls, conference calls, and whatsapp messages later, on the day itself, it all just fell into place.

We were all at the stadium well before the match started, with the majority of us seated together!

* * *

The night before the Pakistan vs India clash was a sleepless night.

After a long time, I had experienced the excitement of a cricket match similar to the 90s when we would be up all night and drive early morning to Sharjah for the many Pakistan vs India matches.

Come 24th October and about 25 of us gathered at a friend's place right opposite the Dubai Cricket Stadium, well before game time.

The cars were parked there, lunch was served at the friend's place (whose delicious catering you must try by the way), and excitement was at just an unreal level.

From there we made our way to the stadium by foot and within 15 minutes we were inside.

* * *

The last match all of us had watched together in a stadium was the World Cup 2019 clash between Pakistan and New Zealand in Birmingham.

That game had an epic crowd, and an unparalleled atmosphere.

Back then, Mohammad Aamir had set up the game with his first delivery by bowling out Martin Guptill.

Similarly, in Dubai, another Pakistan left arm pacer - Shaheen Afridi - set up the game by rocking India with his 4th delivery as he sent the dangerous Rohit Sharma back to the pavilion for a golden duck!

In his next over, Shaheen, knocked over KL Rahul's middle stump, and the stadium erupted.

Pakistan was on top and there was no looking back now.

Shaheen Afridi had totally validated the warning that Osman Samiuddin had given to all openers at this T20 World Cup.

While Kohli and Pant provided some resistance, Pakistan's bowling and fielding were of top quality, and India ended their innings at a below par 151.

Historically, Pakistan have been nervous chasers, however the opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have changed this in recent times; particularly in T20 internationals.

Babar and Rizwan are the best pair of opening batsmen in the world in T20Is at the moment.

This is the first time that Pakistan has won a T20I by 10 wickets. It is also the first time that India has lost a T20I by 10 wickets.

It was the second highest chase ever in T20Is without losing a wicket.

Babar and Rizwan's unbroken partnership of 152 is now the highest ever opening partnership in a T20 World Cup, and the second highest ever for any wicket.

This was Babar and Rizwan's 3rd partnership of over 150 runs. They stand over and above all other pairs that have put on 150-run partnerships in T20Is.

* * *

Even the most optimistic Pakistani fans did not expect a 10 wicket romp. 

It was a clinical chase by Pakistan's two premier batsmen, the captain and the vice captain, comprehensively dominating and schooling one of the best bowling attacks in T20 cricket.

Pakistan were home with 13 deliveries to spare - that is how convincing the chase was by Babar and Rizwan.

It is all quite surreal. Being at the stadium to witness this historical moment was magical, phenomenal, and truly quite unbelievable.

Some of us made it to the billion TV screens around the world.

Some of us made it to the official T20 World Cup instagram page and from there to several blogger insta pages.

The celebrations continued well into the early hours of the morning.

Pakistan delivered a power packed punch yesterday and they have announced their intentions for this T20 World Cup in a manner no other team has.

There is still a long way to go, with 4 more group matches, with another one tomorrow!

Rest assured, we will be there again, this time in Sharjah, cheering on the boys in green.

Come on PAKISTAAAAAN!

The last time Pakistan and India clashed in the Asia Cup it was 2014. But Shahid Afridi thought it was 1986 and smashed Aswhin for two successive sixes in the final over to give Pakistan a  one wicket win.

The Asia Cup is back again; as is Pakistan vs India., the most awaited cricket clash, which just does not happen quite as often as we would like it to.

That encounter in 2014 leveled Pakistan and India at 5 wins apiece in Asia Cup encounters. Unlike the World Cup, the Asia Cup seems to be a more level playing field.

But this time, the Asia Cup is different. It has adopted the T20 format for the first time, following the decision by the respective boards that the Asia Cup will be in the T20 format in the years with the World T20 and ODI format in the years with the ICC World Cup.

Surprising right that the boards do actually employ smart people.

So the clock starts from zero again.

Pakistan 0 India 0.

T20 seems to be firmly India's territory having beaten 5 times in the format with Pakistan beating them only once. Even though Pakistan has the more superior record in overall T20 Internationals, India comes out trumps in clashes between the two teams.

As always it is going to be about India's batting and Pakistan's bowling. From the times of Wasim-Waqar vs Sachin to Shoaib-Asif vs Dravid and Sehwag, we are now in the times of Aamir-Irfan-Wahab vs Kohli-Sharma-Dhawan.

India's recent form suggests that they are favorites going into this game. Their batting has been in superb form and unless Pakistan's pacers can put a roadblock in front of India's Top 3, this match will be out of their hands.

For Pakistan however, the timing of this Asia Cup, and the following World T20, is ideal considering that it has followed the just concluded Pakistan Super League. Many of Pakistan's squad members are coming of successful PSL stints, which bodes well for their confidence going into the match against India.

All logic and sense typically go out the window once Pakistan and India take the field, and emotion kicks in. But still, numbers do tell some story. Here are some in context of the match tonight.

1. Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Akmal are among the only 6 batsmen in the world that have scored over 1,500 runs in T20 Internationals.
   
2. Pakistan and India both have 4 batsmen each with over 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals - Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Afridi, Malik, Kohli, Sharma, Raina, Yuvraj.
   
3. Virat Kohli's average of 48.88 in T20 Internationals is the highest in the world. No qualification for number of runs or innings required. The man is a batting giant!
   
4. Shahid Afridi's strike rate of 149.4 in T20 Internationals is the 4th highest in the world. No qualifications required.
   
5. Shahid Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the world in T20 Internationals. Pakistan has 5 bowlers in the top 20 wicket takers (Afridi, Gul, Ajmal, Tanvir, Hafeez). India has none.
   
6. Shahid Afridi has the 5th best economy rate among bowlers with at least 50 wickets in T20 Internationals.
   
7. MS Dhoni (58) is the most capped T20I captain. Afridi is 4th on that list.

When its Pakistan taking on India, it can never be "just another game".

Warm-up or not, Pakistan and India will be taking this game seriously.

And so will we, the Pakistan and India fans, and bloggers.

Both have lost their opening warm-ups and want to head into the ICC World Twenty20 with some momentum.

The last time Pakistan and India clashed in a twenty20 game, it was the final of a world cup.

India trumped us back then by 5 runs.

The only other time they played a T20, it ended in a TIE.

So you can be sure of a nail biter tonight!

Here is a call for all of US, all of YOU, and all of THEM to come TOGETHER for the mother of all warm-up matches - Pakistan taking on India!

Not only playing to gain momentum but also to raise funds for a good cause.

The Pakistani and Indian bloggers will be coming TOGETHER for the game to cover it LIVE for everyone.

For more details on the kind of spirit we want for the match, check out what coming TOGETHER means for us.

If you want to come TOGETHER in a different spirit, then check out how we'll be preparing for the game.

The link to the LIVE COVERAGE can be found on the links I've provided above.

So come TOGETHER all, for this may be the only time Pakistan and India meet at the ICC World Twenty20, unless we set up a semi final or a final clash.

Tonight, 1615GMT, 2015 UAE, 2215 PST, 2145 IST.