Cricket

The World Cup may start from February 14 but for the Indian sub-continent, the tournament will well and truly begin a day after when defending champions India face traditional rivals Pakistan in a Group B match at the Adelaide Oval.

The two neighbours have a rich history of fierce battles on the cricket ground and each encounter sees partisan feelings rise to a feverish pitch. While Pakistan enjoy a considerable advantage in the overall One-Day International (ODI) head-to-head count, claiming 72 of the 126 battles, India possess a 5-0 scoreline in the World Cup matches.

The build-up to the tournament has been, expectedly, overshadowed by the expectations of the supporters of the two nations regarding the outcome of the match. For most of them, a victory against the traditional rivals is as good as winning the Cup.

Justifying all the hype, the tickets for the eagerly-awaited contest were sold out in 20 minutes for the 50,000-capacity stadium, with the South Australian government expecting around 20,000 Indian travellers for the marquee clash.

While experts, comprising former players and famous voices of the game, all busy airing their opinion about the high-octane clash, expect it to be the most watched match in the sport's history, a quick glance at the past World Cup battles reveals some interesting aspects of the coloured rivalry.

1992 - India won by 43 runs

It was the first time that the two nations met at a World Cup match. India, buoyed by a young and emerging Sachin Tendulkar's fine unbeaten knock of 54 runs, posted 216 and bowled out Pakistan for 173 to register a convincing victory.

1996 - India won by 39 runs.