Indian and Pakistani players go about their business, game faces on, blinkers in place

Potchefstroom's Sports Village. It was Australia's base when they won the 2003 World Cup. That's where the Spain football team was based when they won the 2010 World Cup. It's the residence of choice for elite South African athletes who wish to train away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The facilities are state-of-the-art and the buffets are calorie-counted. It's also where India and Pakistan are camped at the moment, ahead of their Under-19 World Cup semi-final.

The two teams met in the 2018 semi-final as well, in New Zealand, where Pakistan's players didn't miss a single chance to spend time with Rahul Dravid, India's then coach, and pick his brains. This time, though, feels different. While "it's just another game" and "we don't focus on the opponent" ring out from every corner, it does seem like the two sets of players are on edge.

Take Yashasvi Jaiswal, India's left-hand opener. When asked where he thinks the game will be decided, the usually chatty Jaiswal says, "I don't want to tell you that."

For Haider Ali, the Pakistan opening batsman who Ian Bishop has called "the next Babar Azam", a simple question about what's been most attractive about India's playing style so far draws a similarly guarded response: "I'll tell you after the game. How can I tell you right now?"

A senior team support staffer, sensing the stress, asks Haider to answer the question if he can. "India's top order," he says in his second take.

The mood is completely different where the two other semi-finalists, staying at the same hotel, are concerned. The Bangladesh players are to be seen by the swimming pool, waving to the New Zealand boys who are passing by. At the table-tennis room, one group of Bangladesh boys wait patiently for the New Zealanders to finish their game before they get a go.

The India and Pakistan teams have no time for such frivolity.

After their training session, Rohail Nazir, the Pakistan captain, and left-arm spinner Arish Ali Khan were lounging near the pool, telling this correspondent about their day-trip to Sun City. They were cracking jokes about their other team-mates, being the teenaged boys they are. Laughter rang out, fist-bumps were exchanged, but in a matter of a second, things changed.

In the distance were the Indian trio of Shubhang Hegde, Siddhesh Veer and Ravi Bishnoi, carrying their laundry baskets from the lobby to their rooms. Nazir and Arish stopped talking, waiting for them to pass, before resuming the conversation. But the flow of the chat never really got back, and we went our separate paths soon.

Nazir had revealed that, earlier in the day, he had tried to chat with some of the India boys at breakfast. While he was sandwiched between two India boys in the queue for the food, he said he had looked and smiled at some of them. But, according to him, he received nothing in return. Is it fair to read too much into this? Perhaps not, but it had affected Nazir for sure.

Later, as the sun began to set, at the north end of the swimming pool stood a few Indian players talking to each other, on the south end were the Pakistan players. In between, the great divide.

Closer to dinner time, the Pakistan players congregated near the reception - which is very tiny, by the way - to head out to honour an invitation from a local resident, while members of the Indian team sat in the sofas. Both sets stared intently at the TV screen that was showing the Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City game. One Pakistan player asked another, "Yeh kaun se teams hain [which teams are these)? It was, maybe, simpler to stare at the TV screen than to allow your eyes to wander around the lobby.

It's a well-established fact that the Indians prefer to tread on the side of caution while choosing their words, especially during a world event. No other side is under as much of the spotlight as they are, after all. They were stoic most of the way, resembling men on a mission, focusing on the goal of defending their World Cup crown. For them, the Pakistan game is simply a stepping stone towards the ultimate objective, and that was evident in the way went about their day, blinkers on, not letting anything distract them.

Such non-interactions will keep taking place till the teams walk out for Tuesday's toss, but one hopes that goes away once the contest ends. Results are one thing, rivalries are another, but there are few sights in world cricket that warm the cockles of the heart more than Indian and Pakistan players smiling together, talking to each other in a mix of Hindi and Urdu, shutting out all the noise outside.

There's one final session of training remaining for both teams, but more crucially, there's one final night to spend within close quarters. Whether all of these are tactics or nerves - from both sides - is difficult to say, but it's clear that neither team is ready to remove their game-face masks. As semi-final time comes closer, the pot continues to simmer.