- India take on Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy final at The Oval in London on Sunday.
- The match will be telecast on Star Sports 1 HD and Star Sports 1 at 3 pm IST.
- India will play Pakistan in their third Pool B match at the Hero Hockey World League Semi-Final on 18 June (Sunday) at 6.30 pm IST.
- The match will be telecast on Star Sports 2 HD and Star Sports 2.
The Kia Oval and the Lee Valley Hockey Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park are less than nine miles as the crow flies, but it could take over an hour even on Sunday, at least this one.
And, you can bet your last dollar, pound or rupee, depending on your choice, both venues are going to be packed on Sunday.
Not because England features in either, but because India and Pakistan take on each other in both. One in cricket and the other in hockey.
The Kia Oval hosts the India-Pakistan final in the ICC Champions Trophy cricket, while the Lee Valley Centre features India and Pakistan in a league match in the Hero Hockey World League.
A Marketing Manager’s Dream
The India-Pakistan hockey clash was always scheduled as part of the programme but the India-Pakistan final in cricket was a marketing manager’s dream. And, it happened, setting up for a Super Sunday.
In London, it is the expatriate population, Indians and Pakistanis, that throngs the stadium for both cricket and hockey. And, they are willing to fork out big money and travel long distances for an India-Pakistan match in either sport.
This weekend when both are on the same day, it has been a difficult choice. But for many, the choice was ‘forcibly’ made easy by the difference in prices and the availability of tickets.
While the Lee Valley Hockey Centre can accommodate between 3,000, when the upper tiers are closed, to 15,000 people, when the upper stands are opened for seating, the Kia Oval has an official capacity of 24,500 spectators.
No Price is Too Much
And, what of the ticket prices! An India-Pakistan hockey match on Sunday will set back fans by a mere 25 pounds, plus transaction charges – the tickets on weekdays are half that price but India-Pak game is scheduled for Sunday.
On the other end of the spectrum, cricket tickets for the ICC Champions Trophy final were sold out long back. When it turned out to be India versus Pakistan, it became priceless.
The original prices for the final were in the region of 350-400 pounds, depending on the stands, and two to three times that for select Pavilion and Special Peter May stands, but now some websites are putting them out for more than 1,600 pounds. The buzz is that the outside market rate is as high as 2,000 pounds.
But with the rich and famous of India already in London for the English summer, no price is too much for India-Pak cricket final.
A Tale of Two Sports
The situation in cricket and hockey in India and Pakistan, too, makes for a fascinating comparison. Hockey, once the golden sport for India, has over the last three decades ceded its position of eminence to cash-rich cricket. In the days when the Olympic gold for India was foregone conclusion, hockey players were akin to god, but that status has now been reserved for the multi-millionaire cricketers, though the hockey players now make more money than their predecessors.
The IPL and Hockey leagues in India are the world’s envy, as the world’s best compete in both. They are both cash rich, even though the money in cricket is many times more than in hockey.
Though it cannot be overlooked that India, eight time winners of the Olympic hockey gold, are now seeing a resurgence in the game backed by a strong programme and leading sponsors, cricket has sped far ahead.
In contrast, Pakistan hockey is finding it difficult to survive. They have virtually no international hockey to speak of and even their performance is deteriorating fast. Here in London Pakistan were outplayed by Canada 6-0, a day after suffering a 0-4 loss to the Netherlands.
In contrast, India beat Scotland 4-1 with a 12-minute burst that saw all four goals and then they eased up.
Pakistan no longer feature in the World’s Top-10 teams – they are currently 13th to India’s sixth.
As for Pakistan’s cricket it is in worse situation. Wracked by controversy in the best of times, their players find no place in India’s Indian Premier League and have few takers in terms of sponsorships.
While India is a preferred destination for both cricket and hockey, Pakistan hosts virtually no international cricket or hockey. If the UAE is seen as their ‘home’ in cricket, they are now seeking a ‘hockey home’ in Surrey in UK for the upcoming Pro Hockey League beginning in 2019.
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