The India-Pakistan matchup always makes the headlines and this time is no different. But this time it’s on the front pages for all the wrong reasons. Recently, Jay Shah, secretary of the Cricket Control Board (BCCI) in India, made a shocking statement stating that Team India will not be visiting their neighboring country for the 2023 Asian Cup.
This statement was condemned by thousands around the world and it certainly did not go well with the Pakistan Cricket Board and its former cricketers. However, despite all the off-pitch tension – India and Pakistan will start their T20 World campaigns on Sunday, October 23.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup saw India and Pakistan battle each other six times, with Team India winning five of them. However, Pakistan stopped India’s winning run last time when they smashed India by 10 wickets. Below is a brief summary of each of these games and how both teams have performed against each other in previous matches.
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A brief history of India and Pakistan at the T20 World Cup
India beat Pakistan with “Bowl-Out” (Durban, 2007): It was during the inaugural T20 World Cup, when overwhelming opponents met for the first time in the shortest form of the game in the competition. It was a gruesome ending as the match ended in a draw. MS Dhoni’s men put a modest 141 on board, but Pakistan somehow failed to overhaul the total. The match went to a tie-break, which was a “bowl” at the time. Pakistan’s bowlers failed in all three, while India was declared the winner as they consistently hit the logs three times.
India beat Pakistan by 5 runs (Johannesburg, 2007): The overwhelming opponents once again honked the horn for the opening tournament, but this time on the biggest stage – the final. The match was turned upside down once again and Men in Blue once again kept their nerves to beat their neighbors to win the championship. Gautam Gambhir was the hero who smashed 75 to help India launch a total of 157 wars on board. However, despite getting off to a fast start thanks to Imran Nazir – Pakistan stumbled in the middle as India made their way back into the match. Misbah-ul-Haq was strong, however, and it looked like he was going to snatch the victory in the final rematch, but caused a horrendous batting drop and gave India a 5-round win.
India beat Pakistan by 8 wickets (Colombo, 2012): The two teams faced off once again, but this time it was a pretty one-sided affair. Laxmipathy Balaji was chosen by the three-headed bowlers when Pakistan was distributed to 128. Virat Kohli then played one of the competition’s best hits – 78 undefeated from 61 balls to help India reach a convincing win.
India beat Pakistan by 7 wickets (Dhaka, 2014): Fans around the world took part in another Indo-Pak competition at the T20 World Cup. It was another one-way event where Indian bowlers dominated Pakistani batters. Indian bowlers did everything right to limit Pakistan to just 130/7 thanks to Amit Mishra’s amazing 22v2 spell on over quota. Names such as Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina made useful contributions with the bat, while India won the 9-ball tow match.
India beat Pakistan by 6 wickets (Kolkata, 2016): The rain-limited affair fell to 18 per side match. The Indian bowlers got onto the deck wonderfully and kept a perfect line and length to limit Pakistan to 118/5. In response, India’s opening line fell like a deck of cards and was once struggling at 23/3. But Kohli had something else on his mind as he shot an unbeaten 55 from 37 balls to take India home.
Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets (Dubai, 2021): In their group stage match last year, Pakistan claimed a comprehensive 10-wicket victory against India to break their streak against them in the World Cups. Shaheen Shah Afridi was a prime wreck as Pakistan capped India to 151 for 7 after India first claimed it. After that, Pakistan’s openings, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, beat India by 10 wickets, producing 68 and 79 masterclasses respectively.
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