The impossible happened today. India and Pakistan met on a playing field. And there were no screaming crowds, no media hype, no security tensions. An hour before India took on its arch-rivals in the hockey fields of Hyderabad, victory had already come the way of a representative India side against the Pakistan national team in a league match in the ongoing Provincial Cup championship. The venue was Colombo, the sport rugby, the score 52-15. Incidentally, this was the first meeting between the two sides in an international tournament. With this game, the 15-strong Indian side — comprising 10 regular (First XV) players and five aspirants — wrapped up their league matches in the three-nation championship; the triangle is completed by the three top Lankan provincial sides. An elated Pramod Khanna, president, Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) however, insisted that the victory be looked at purely in terms of sporting glory. ‘‘It’s great that we beat Pakistan, considering that ours is a representative side and theirs is the first XV. But any win is just as good. Rugby is about competition on the field and camaraderie off it,’’ he said. The championship, played in League format, gives every team four matches, with the best performing team cornering top honours. India, who played their fourth and last league match on Friday against Pakistan, come away with two wins, a draw and a loss. The performance, says Khanna, will corner them either of the top two spots, with one match still to be played in this championship on Saturday. Although India have played rugby with Pakistan on several occasions, it was largely limited to club matches. ‘‘This is the first time that we are playing Pakistan at this level,’’ he said. And that by itself makes the match special.
