Dubai August 27 2022: Pakistan and India are all set to face off in their first game of the 2022 Asia Cup in Dubai. Ahead of the high-voltage clash, we take a look at the last five encounters between the arch-rivals across all formats.
Yet another chapter in the storied rivalry is set to be written when India and Pakistan clash in the second match of the Asia Cup on Sunday, 28 August.
The high-profile clash will have a few big names missing, including Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi and Harshal Patel, but that won’t take away from the excitement of the two teams meeting for the first time since October last year.
As the world waits with bated breath for the two Asian heavyweights to take the field in Dubai, we take a look back at the last five matches between the two teams across formats.
India v Pakistan: T20 World Cup group stage match, Dubai (24 October 2021)
India will not have the fondest memories of the Dubai International Stadium when they step on the field in their Asia Cup opener. It was on this very ground that they suffered their first-ever loss to Pakistan in a World Cup match, with Babar Azam’s men scripting a memorable win over their arch-rivals.
Shaheen Afridi was unplayable in his opening spell, accounting for the wickets of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with two rippers. The partnership between Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant held India’s innings together, with the former going on to make yet another fifty against Pakistan.
Unfortunately, the rest of the batting failed as India stumbled their way to 151/7 in 20 overs.
In reply, Pakistan romped their way to the target with all 10 wickets to spare. The opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan was in cruise control throughout the innings as they stitched an unbeaten 152-run partnership to register a famous win over India.
India v Pakistan: Cricket World Cup group stage match, Manchester (16 June, 2019)
The two teams clashed on the biggest stage amidst pomp and pageantry but the clash failed to live up to its lofty expectations as India got the better of Pakistan in a rather one-sided contest.
With a hundred and a fifty in the previous games of the tournament, Rohit Sharma was in the mood against Pakistan and put on a clinic with the bat in hand. The bowlers were all at sea at the star Indian batter and found it impossible to breach the fort as Rohit smashed a 113-ball 140.
Half-centuries from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli propelled India to a massive score, setting Pakistan a daunting target of 337.
After losing the early wicket of Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam steadied the ship and were starting to look dangerous with their century partnership. It took a special delivery from Kuldeep Yadav to breach the defence of Babar, which turned out to be a turning point in the game.
Wickets fell in heaps thereafter and Pakistan, chasing 302 in 40 overs in a rain-reduced game, only managed to 212/6 as India extended their unbeaten run in the 50-over World Cup against their arch-rivals to 7-0.
India v Pakistan: Asia Cup Super Four match, Dubai (23 September, 2018)
India and Pakistan faced off for the second time in the Asia Cup in 2018 and the result was just as one-sided as the first game.
Pakistan were put on the back foot by the early wickets before skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik held fort together with a 107-run stand for the fourth wicket. Malik finished as the top-scorer with 78 and a few lusty blows in the end from Asif Ali helped Pakistan post a competitive total of 237/7.
In reply, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored a century each and wiped off 210 runs of the target with their opening stand. The run-out of Shikhar Dhawan was the only reason for celebration for Pakistan as India romped home with nine wickets and more than 10 overs to spare.
India v Pakistan: Asia Cup group stage match, Dubai (19 September, 2018)
Four days before the Super Four clash, Pakistan were at the receiving end of yet another humbling at the hands of India in the group stage of the 2018 Asia Cup.
The batting was once again not up to the mark and failed to recover from the strikes by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Babar Azam and Shoiab Malik were the top two scorers on the day but neither of them managed to reach to 50-run mark. The wily spin of Kedar Jadhav accounted for three middle-order wickets as Pakistan crumbled to 162 all out.
Once again, the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got India off to a great start. Rohit, who was standing in for Virat Kohli as skipper for the tournament, played a captain’s knock with a half-century as India cruised to a win in just 29 overs.
India v Pakistan: Champions Trophy Final, London (17 June, 2017)
Prior to this game, India were on a four-match unbeaten run against Pakistan across all formats. However, the tables turned in the favour of Men in Green on the day as they beat their arch-rivals when it mattered the most.
Luck was on Pakistan’s side from the very beginning. Fakhar Zaman was out off a no-ball in the third over and that eventually proved to be the turning point of the game as he punished India by smashing a century.
Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez chipped in with vital fifties as Pakistan posted 338/4 in their 50 overs.
India needed a solid start to chase down the mammoth total but their innings never took off. Mohammad Amir ran through India’s top order with three wickets in his opening spell that included the scalps of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.
India never managed to recover from the fiery spell and were staring down the barrel at 72/6. The only positive for India was the 80-run partnership between Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja where the former went berserk with the bat. However, a run-out spoilt the end of Hardik’s innings and the Men in Blue were knocked over for 158 as Pakistan got their hands on the coveted Champions Trophy for the first time in its history.
