Cricket: Pakistan, India put troubles behind them

Misbah-ul-Haq leads Pakistan against India. Photo / Getty Images

Such is the mutual animosity, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq believes today's World Cup opener against India may be won off the field.

Misbah believes the team who can best forget the troubled history between the nations might prevail in what is expected to be the most-watched cricket game ever.

A television audience of 1 billion is predicted to watch a game attended by a sell-out 53,000-strong crowd at Adelaide Oval.

Misbah and his Indian counterpart MS Dhoni concede white-hot emotions will envelop the fixture between the arch rivals.

"Obviously India-Pakistan is always a lot about pressure," Misbah said. "But I think it is the way to go, that you just don't take anything into the ground when you are playing against India - you don't have to worry about what is happening outside, what has been going on in the countries.

"It's about pressure and it is about the dressing room and what you are thinking about this game. You need to be really positive in these sort of pressure games and that is how you really perform well."

India's Dhoni said meeting a bitter foe to start their World Cup defence was perfect for his side who have logged just one win - in a warm-up game against Afghanistan - since their Australian tour began in November.

"When you play Pakistan, there is is definitely more intensity on the field. It will be a perfect scenario for everyone to raise their level of performance," Dhoni said. "We have played the tri-series and the warm-up games so starting with Pakistan, it will be a high-voltage game.

"With so many fans coming from India, it will be a house full, it's definitely something. It's one of those occasions where the spectators really love it. It's one of the most prized games when it comes to the ODI format so, overall, I think it's a perfect scenario to start."

Pakistan have not beaten India in five World Cup games - a statistic dismissed as irrelevant by Dhoni.

"I'm not someone who believes greatly in stats," he said. "What will be important for us will be to execute our plans."

— AAP

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