File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Australia where the ICC World Cup is being held.
© AFP
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, called his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to wish him best before the all-important India vs Pakistan World Cup. Modi also tweeted his wishes to all SAARC nations participating in the tournament. India and Pakistan are in Pool B of the World Cup which also has South Africa, West Indies, UAE and Afghanistan. The South Asian countries in Pool B include Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Modi called Sharif and the two leaders are learnt to have shared cricket jokes - apart from diplomatic discussions related to Foreign Secretary talks - even as the national teams sweat it out Down Under. Modi, an enthusiastic admirer of Indian cricket team, had earlier wished MS Dhoni and his players in a series of tweets.
A contest between India and Pakistan has always been the most-awaited clash in any cricket tournament. That the tickets for the February 15 match was completely sold in 20 minutes goes to show the significance of the match. Both countries have a large diaspora base in Adelaide and are expecting jingoistic support. The Indian team has never lost to Pakistan in the World Cup but iffy form of both teams makes the contest hard to predict.
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