India Vs Pakistan

Those three words alone conjure up such vibrant images of tense encounters on dust-bowl pitches watched by fiercely partisan crowds.

An English cricket fan can watch his team humbled at Lord's, shrug his shoulders, and mumble: "Well, there's always the rugby." So as for Australia, south Africa.

For Indians and Pakistanis, there is no such cheap escape clause. Unbending loyalty, unyielding faith and an all-consuming passion for the game seep through their veins when they watch their heroes perform on the big stage.