India vs Pakistan, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Harbhajan Singh was anxious of losing to Pak in WC game

Harbhajan Singh has admitted that he would remain stressed ahead of India-Pakistan games, especially when the two teams were facing each other in the World Cup. The two arch-rivals have always played their matches under pressure, with the political tension adding to the animosity. 

Bhajji is well aware of the high emotions that run before and during a game. Ahead of the clash bewteen the two teams on Sunday, the off-spinner admitted that the thought of losing a game to Pakistan in a World Cup match gave him sleepless nights. He has played Pakistan 17 times in his career, but the biggest match ever between the two sides was in the 2011 World Cup semi-final that was held at Mohali.

He was so anxious before the game that he tossed and turned throughout the night as he imagined the furious fans and their reactions if the Indians lost. 

"The memories of that game was I couldn't sleep the night before, even though I tried my best," Harbhajan said.

"I was just worried about what would happen if we lost the game. There were a lot of thoughts coming into my mind.

"People get angry and they can do anything. In the 2003 World Cup we didn't play one game as well as we should have against Australia and people got really angry.

"They were just burning our stuff and throwing stones at our homes. They get a bit emotional."

However, despite the anxiety, he turned up to take two wickets in the match as Pakistan were defeated by 29 runs. 

"When we won the game I couldn't sleep the next day either because I was too excited and too happy. That's what the Pakistan game does to you," he said.

"Obviously it's one of those games when the pressure is a little more than when you play against England or New Zealand.

"People in both countries want their respective teams to win and if you end up losing the game the people really get up upset and they go on to lose their minds, which is obviously quite bad."

Ahead of the game on Sunday, Bhajji stated that the Indians will be under more pressure.

"As a player you always want to play well against Pakistan, so there is more pressure. It's not just for Indian players but for Pakistani players as well," he said.

"But there is more pressure on the Indian players because we have a very good record in these games and we don't want to change that."