Manchester, United Kingdom – A capacity crowd, a batting masterclass and a sea of blue in the stands withstood overcast conditions, cold breeze and several rain delays as India sealed a convincing win over Pakistan in a 2019 Cricket World Cup match.

Sunday’s showpiece was the seventh time the teams had met in a Cricket World Cup and India’s win helped them maintain their 100 percent record.

A few months ago, there were calls for this match to be cancelled as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals reaching a tipping point.

In February, a suicide attack in India-administered Kashmir killed nearly 40 paramilitary troops with the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) claiming responsibility.

In response, India launched an air raid in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, claiming to have targeted a JeM “training centre”. Both sides then deployed fighter jets resulting in an Indian aircraft being shot down and its pilot captured.

The pilot’s return by Pakistan finally helped subside the tension but there were calls for Pakistan to be thrown out of the Cricket World Cup that were rejected by the sport’s governing body.

The match did eventually take place in Manchester, much to the delight of the crowd, a good number of which had travelled from various parts of the world.