"Players Get Sore Throat Too...": Sachin Tendulkar On India-Pakistan Contests

Legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar , who celebrated his 50th birthday on Monday, has given an interesting insight on India-Pakistan matches. He said that the contests between the Asian rivals gives a "sore throat" to not only the spectators, but also the players. It is worth noting India and Pakistan are arch-rivals in cricket. However, the fans rarely get to see the teams playing against each other now as bilateral series has not happened for more than a decade now after the increased political tensions between the two nations. This means the ICC and continental tournaments are the only occassions when the fans get to see the two teams take on each other.

"India-Pakistan match will always be a high pressure game magar usi ke sath (but with it) I realised my first outing in Australia in Sydney (in) 1992.... India-Pakistan match ke baad sore throat bhi hota hai(One also gets sore throat after India-Pakistan matches). Sirf spectators ko nahi, magar players ko bhi hota hai (Not only spectators get sore throat but also players get it) because there is so much energy on the field and also in the stands," Sachin said in an interaction at Meta Office.

"The intensity is at a different level. We have had some unbelievable battles," he added.

Both India and Pakistan have played 132 ODI matches against each other. 55 of them have been won by India and Pakistan have won 73. Four of the matches ended without any result.

In T20Is, India dominate with 9 wins across 12 matches. Pakistan have won only three.

Talking about the longest format, both the sides played 59 matches against each other with India winning 9 and Pakistan winning 12. Remaining 38 matches ended in a draw.