Nisshin, Oct 2 (IANS): India stand on the brink of defending their Asian Games gold medal, but batting coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has brushed off the hype surrounding their high-stakes final against arch-rivals Pakistan, adding that the side views the contest strictly through a professional lens.
An India-Pakistan clash naturally commands massive global attention, and it will be the same when the gold medal game happens at the Korogi Sports Park on Saturday.
“A lot of eyeballs will be there, but for the players, to be frank with you, it’s facing a bowler or bowling to a batter. So that’s what it comes down to, and that’s what professionals do, so that’s what we’ll be focused on,” Kanitkar told reporters on the eve of the match.
The former India batter, famous for hitting the match-winning boundary against Pakistan in the 1998 Independence Cup final in Dhaka, dismissed suggestions that recent Indian results across other sports – a win over Pakistan in the men’s hockey semi-final and a defeat to them in the men’s volleyball quarter-final – would add extra pressure to his side.
“No, it doesn’t. Frankly, like I said earlier, international games, every match is pressure. So we need to be in our zone, we need to be at our best, and that’s what we focus on. So shutting out all the other noise is part of professional cricket or sport – that’s what we’ll look to do,” he said.
Having advanced to the title clash through a commanding semi-final win over Sri Lanka, Kanitkar noted that the squad remains in high spirits despite weather-disrupted training sessions.
“The team’s done well. We just got one game to play, and it was a good outing for the players, and we are confident; the team is confident. So our preparation has been good enough with the weather and everything. But still it’s been very good, so we are happy with the place we are in.”
Rather than getting caught up in rivalry narratives, the Indian team is driven by the prospect of contributing to the nation’s overall medal tally, said Kanitkar. “It is extremely special because it goes into the medal tally for the country, and like the other Indian athletes, they work a lot to get that gold, silver, bronze, whatever it may be, and it’s not easy.
“So we are really looking forward to this game, really looking forward to doing very well and winning it so that it can add to the tally of the country’s medals and that’s really high on our list, and it will be a proud moment for us.”
Decisions regarding conditions and team composition will be finalised on Saturday morning after inspecting the pitch. “It looks okay; it was covered, so we’ll have to come tomorrow again and have a look at how it will play and then decide, bat or bowl, whatever. So it’s been covered today, so we’ll see tomorrow,” added Kanitkar.
Reflecting on his famous Dhaka heroics against Pakistan in 1998, where he hit a match-winning boundary to give India the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup triumph, Kanitkar signed off by saying that big-match temperament and handling crunch situations remain paramount.
“So it was more than 20 years ago, but I’ll take that. No, it’s very important – the moments are what matter in big games. Who wins those crucial moments? Our players have done it in the past at various levels, and we’re confident we’ll do it again. But to answer your question, it’s very important to win those crucial moments.”
“So this is one more international game that my team will be playing, and it’s for the Asian Games gold medal, so that’s the importance of the game. For international players, each and every game is important; everything is scrutinised, everything is closely watched. So I think it’s as important as all the other games we have been playing.”
