It's been over a week since we arrived in India to cover the ICC ODI World Cup. Since we are following the Bangladesh team in the tournament, there was hardly any room for the journalists from Bangladesh to keep an eye on the other matches. 

But how could one miss the buzz of an India-Pakistan encounter of a World Cup, that too on the Indian soil?

Although we were in Pune where Bangladesh will face the hosts in their next World Cup game on October 19, Rohit Sharma and Co were in action yesterday in the most anticipated match of the tournament against archrivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad. 

This reporter expected some excitement among the Indian fans here in Pune and took a walk around the busy streets of Koregaon -- a happening place in the city. 

But it was a bit surprising to see hardly any excitement among the fans, apart from a few pubs beaming the game on big screens. 

Since India managed to register their eighth consecutive win over Pakistan in World Cups, a few crazy celebrations from the fans was expected. But there was hardly any.

Vishal Shetty, who works for a private firm in Pune, was wearing an India jersey. He seemed to be the most enthusiastic among a group of four friends, who came to watch the game and have a dinner together. 

A view of a busy street in Koregaon in Pune.

"Previously we used to have a lot of craze whenever India played Pakistan," Vishal told The Daily Star. "But you know, things have changed a lot for various reasons. First of all, Pakistan haven't been able to give us a fight in the World Cups for some time now and you have just seen how we thrashed them yet again."

While Vishal pointed out to the one-sided nature of the contest as the reason for the lack of excitement, Pauli Mishra, who is works for an IT firm here, opined that the India-Pakistan game is over-hyped by the media. 

"It's just a game. The way the media have been portraying the rivalry between India and Pakistan over the years is, to some extent, over-hyped. They show the game as a battle or war but to be honest, the Indians don't see it that way. It's just a cricket match that we have enjoyed since our childhood. They are our neighbours and we welcome them," said Pauli.