There were frantic screams at the entrance of Eden Gardens as Team India bus arrived on Friday for their final practice session before their high-voltage clash against Pakistan on Saturday.

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Apart from the usual flag wavers, regulars with the team now-a-days, a large number of locals wanted a bit of the Men in Blue. The World T20 is on. New Zealand may have scalped two big victories against hosts and Australia, but the focus is yet again back on the big one – India vs Pakistan.

The pressure is huge; the crazy fans add more fuel. But players from both countries do maintain that "it's just another match".

"This rivalry is huge. It's very hard to put a finger and say how huge it is. It's probably bigger than the Ashes. As far as the Indians go and the Pakistanis go, I don't think they watch this as a game of cricket. It's more of a border rivalry, they want to get one up on each other. So, there is much more to this game rather than the game itself taking centrestage," Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said on the eve of the match on Friday.

The off-spinner has had enough experience of what an Indo-Pak cricket match is. And he happily conceded to the magnitude of Saturday's game. "As far as people are concerned, they put their emotions into it. For the players, it's about trying to keep the emotions aside and playing the game the best we can," he said.

He also understands that there are a lot many things involved than emotions in the game though. The loss has plummeted India's Net Run Rate. For Ashwin it all comes later. A win matters the most.

"We'll have to first win. It's very simple as far as we are concerned, we'll have to go and look to win those games. Net Run Rate is something that has to fall in place and we can take a decision on that when we are in a position to act on the run-rate," added the offie.

On the other hand, history has never been kind to Pakistan in ICC tournaments. They have lost to India on 10 occasions (six in 50-over World Cup, four in World T20). But history also talks about a stunning turnaround for Pakistan when it comes to Kolkata. They have beaten India in all four ODIs and one Test at the Eden Gardens. India have managed just one Test win. Pakistan coach Waqar Younis promptly picked up this fact to send the message across – "Pakistan are at home".

"We have played really well in the past in Kolkata and we won the last game, I think that monkey on our back is off now, so hopefully we will deliver the goods," said the former speedster.

Pakistan certainly have been in a good space here. They have played here twice in the last five days, winning the opener against Bangladesh. "This is the first time that the pressure is more on India. They must be worried that they can go out – playing in your own country, such a huge tournament. It's a big advantage," added the coach.

The other record of not winning against India in the World Cups can always be changed, Waqar said. "We are confident, a little more this time because they can go out of the tournament also (if they lose this game). There is no doubt that our history hasn't been so good but history can always be changed."