T20 World Cup: India-Pakistan encounters; a blast from the past

Let’s walk down memory lane, as we brace for another explosive encounter between the arch-rivals in Melbourne today

by

James Jose

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Top Stories

Published: Sun 23 Oct 2022, 6:53 AM

An India-Pakistan cricket encounter has always had that aura and ‘magic’ about it. There have been plenty over the years, right from the eras of Sunil Gavaskar, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Younis Khan, to name a few. As we brace for another explosive encounter between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in Melbourne today, let’s walk down memory lane to all those times when these two exciting teams crossed paths at T20 World Cups.

The two teams have squared off six times at the showpiece, beginning with the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007.


Here’s a blast from the past of these six epics.

Durban 2007

This was the inaugural edition of the tournament; the two teams met in Durban. And fittingly enough, it served up a contest that was one for the ages. The match went down the wire. After Robin Uthappa served up a half-century, Indian skipper MS Dhoni and all-rounder Irfan Pathan took them to 141-9. MSD’s opposite number Misbah-ul-Haq’s riposte — a half-century — kept Pakistan in the hunt but the Indian bowling attack kept their wits about them to ensure the contest was not over just yet. The game ended in a thrilling stalemate — a tie — with the winner decided by a ‘bowl out.’ India fared better than Pakistan by hitting the stumps three-nil in their favour.


Johannesburg 2007

It was a double delight for fans with the teams going up against each other not once but twice, this time in the final in Johannesburg. And this too went down the wire. Opener Gautam Gambhir smacked a breathtaking 75 as India went on to put the marker at 158. Pakistan’s reply was equalling robust with Imran Nazir leading the charge by racing to 33 from 14 balls. But the Indian bowlers recovered from the onslaught to keep Pakistan in check. Misbah-ul-Haq refused to give up though and took matters into the final over. But cometh the hour, cometh the man as Sreesanth kept his nerve to gobble Misbah’s miscued scoop at short fine-leg off pacer Joginder Sharma. As Misbah looked dejected, India were crowned the inaugural champions of the T20 World Cup.

Colombo 2012

The teams met in the group stage of the tournament in the breathtakingly beautiful and picture-postcard Sri Lanka, but this was a watered-down affair with India emerging triumphant on a canter — winning by eight wickets with about 18 deliveries to spare. Lakshmipathy Balaji had taken 3-22.

Dhaka 2014

The two teams faced each other in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, and this one too followed a similar script as the one in Colombo. Pakistan could only muster a below par 130-7 as Amit Mishra spun a web. India waltzed home comfortably, winning by seven wickets and with nine balls to spare.

Kolkata 2016

There cannot be a better place to watch cricket than the majestic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. And when India go up against Pakistan, one can only imagine the atmosphere at this intimidating yet surreal venue. But rain decided to make a guest appearance on the day. Thankfully, the rain was generous enough and relented with only two overs being lost. Reduced to 18 overs a side, Pakistan scrambled to 118-5. India had a sedate start and suffered a bit of a blip before star batsman Virat Kohli conjured a measured 55 from 37 deliveries to take India home.

Dubai 2021

This one was in our very own backyard — Dubai — and Pakistan finally got one over India and managed the end their losing streak. And the man at the forefront of it all was Shaheen Shah Afridi, with the Indians unable to find an answer to the towering quick’s searing pace. The Indian batting order was all at sea and it all went south for them following Shaheen’s devastating new-ball spell. The 22-year-old snared 3-31 and it was only thanks to Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant that India managed to post a respectable 151-7. It might have seemed a handy total, but the Pakistan openers Babar Azam and the unflappable Mohammad Rizwan thought otherwise by reducing it to a no-contest with some brilliant batting. Azam and Rizwan remained unbeaten on 68 and 79 respectively as Pakistan cruised to a big win — by 10 wickets.

ALSO READ:


More news from