India vs Pakistan: We’ll refresh your memory, take you down memory lane, and relive India’s ODI World Cup victories over Pakistan ahead of the weekend blockbuster.
In four years, it will be that time, India vs Pakistan are at odds, The World Cup. The mother of all conflicts. The most intense rivalry. Every word, proverb, and gimmick, including the iconic ‘Mauka-Mauka’ commercial, will come short of capturing the excitement when these two Asian heavyweights clash on Saturday at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Since the early 1980s, India vs Pakistan have had a long-standing rivalry that has only grown stronger with the passage of time. When it comes to India vs Pakistan matches, however, the World Cup adds an extra element of heat. And the reason is India’s unbeaten record.
Fans will be wondering if Babar’s team will be able to improve their relatively one-sided head-to-head ratio in this high-octane showdown between India vs Pakistan. Both teams have met seven times in the ODI World Cup history, with India holding a perfect record. Since 1992, India has dominated Pakistan in 50-over World Cups, and while there have been countless great moments, just one victor has emerged. We’re here to refresh your memory, take you down memory lane, and relive each of India’s seven victories over Pakistan on the largest stage of them all ahead of the weekend blockbuster.
India wins by 43 runs in Sydney in 1992 India vs Pakistan
As strange as it may sound, India vs Pakistan did not meet in the first four World Cups. The first chapter of their rivalry was written in bright colors and under floodlights when India faced Pakistan at the venerable Sydney Cricket Ground. Batting first, India reached 216/7 in 49 overs thanks to a youthful Sachin Tendulkar’s 54 from 62 balls in his debut World Cup. Pakistan’s Mushtaq Ahmed grabbed three wickets, and Aaqib Javed struck twice. Defending 217 runs, the Indian bowling attack worked as a team, dismissing Pakistan for 173 in 48.1 overs.Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, and Javagal Srinath each grabbed two wickets, while Sachin and Venkatapathy Raju also contributed. Amer Sohail made a half-century off 95 balls, while the legendary Javed Miandad tried but was dismissed for 40, but not before he gave the World Cup a moment to remember by losing his cool at Kiran More’s continuous chirping.
India wins by 39 runs in Bengaluru in 1996.
The absence of Wasim Akram due to injury became one of the most talked-about aspects of the match, which was a do-or-die situation for both teams when India played Pakistan in a knockout competition for the first time – the quarterfinal of the Wills World Cup in 1996. Navjot Sidhu’s confident 93 off 115 balls set the tone for India before Ajay Jadeja’s savage attack against Waqar Younis cemented his spot in the India vs Pakistan rivalry. With Waqar and Mushtaq Ahmed claiming two wickets each, India reached 287/8 in 50 overs thanks to Jadeja’s death overs flourish.
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In response, Pakistan raced to 84/0 in 10 overs, with Saeed Anwar and Sohail providing a strong start. The turning point came in the following over, when, after being teased by Sohail, Venkatesh Prasad created a World Cup moment that would live on forever, ripping the Pakistan opener’s middle stump and finishing with a furious send-off. The middle order fought back, with Saleem Malik and Miandad both getting starts, but Prasad and Anil Kumble were simply too brilliant in Bangalore. Miandad’s final World Cup match ended in defeat as Pakistan were knocked out, allowing India to advance to the semifinals.
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India wins by 47 runs in Manchester in 1999
This India vs Pakistan match was the most emotional and intense of all time. The World Cup began at the same time as the Kargil war between India vs Pakistan, but both countries did well to keep the antagonism off the field at Manchester’s famous Old Trafford stadium. India increased their lead to 3-0 thanks to some excellent batting and Prasad’s amazing five-wicket haul. Tendulkar got India off to a fast start with a quick 45 before Rahul Dravid and captain Mohammad Azharuddin added fiftys each to take India to 227/5. Anwar was ruthless once more in giving India an early fright, blazing away to 36, but after Prasad sent him back, everything went back to normal.
India wins by six wickets in Centurion in 2003
This is widely regarded as the greatest India vs Pakistan World Cup encounter of all time. With political difficulties stifling bilateral ties between the two countries, India and Pakistan met at the 2003 World Cup in Centurion, where sparks flared. How many times has a hundred been obscured by a ninety? Tendulkar, on the other hand, played possibly the finest World Cup knock of his career. His 98 not only overshadowed Anwar’s century, but also provided India with the speed they required in pursuit of 273. Tendulkar went mad against Pakistan’s speed trio of Wasim, Waqar, and Shoaib Akhtar, unleashing a slew of spectacular strokes. He eventually fell two runs short of his century due to cramping, but he had set the stage for Dravid.
India wins by 29 runs in Mohali in 2011
The famed rivalry was back after losing out in 2007, and the stakes were stronger than ever. A World Cup semifinal in India that lives up to the anticipation. Tendulkar top-scored for India once again, as he did eight years ago, but this innings was a sharp contrast to the one that unraveled eight years ago. Sachin was dropped four times, survived an iconic LBW appeal, and clawed and scratched his way to 85 when his luck ran out. Wahab Riaz’s five-wicket haul saw him dismiss Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, and MS Dhoni, and Suresh Raina’s unbeaten 36 helped India reach 260/6.In response, all five Indian bowlers took two wickets each, but Yuvraj’s twin strike to eliminate Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan, as well as a stunning delivery from Munaf Patel to rattle Abdul Razzaq’s stumps, changed the complexion of Pakistan’s chase. In the end, Misbah-ul-Haq was left with a lot to get, and despite flashbacks to Johannesburg in 2007, India won the game in the final over and proceeded to the final.
2015: India win by 76 runs in Adelaide
For the first time, India began their World Cup campaign against Pakistan in Adelaide in 2015. Batting first, Virat Kohli smashed his second World Cup century, which, along with fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, helped India reach 300 for the cost of seven wickets, five of which were taken by Sohail Khan. Pakistan were anticipated to put up a fight against India, but Mohammed Shami’s four wickets produced a disappointing Pakistan response. Except for Misbah’s fifty, no other hitter batted, with two even recording ducks in the middle order. India surged to a 5-0 World Cup lead over their neighbors in one of the most lopsided encounters.
India wins by 89 runs (DLS method) in Manchester in 2019
Twenty years after the 1999 World Cup, India vs Pakistan met once more at the same stadium. Virat Kohli was India’s captain for the 2019 World Cup, and MS Dhoni hadn’t yet retired, but it was Rohit Sharma who stole the show with his second of five hundreds in that tournament. India posted their highest-ever World Cup total against Pakistan, 336/5, powered by Kohli’s stroke-filled 77. The battle was limited to 40 overs due to weather, with Pakistan needed to chase 300, however the wheels came off faster than planned.Only Fakhar Zaman (62) scored a half-century for Pakistan, while Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Hardik Pandya each grabbed two wickets. Pakistan could only muster 212/6 points. As Pakistani journalists in the press box wondered if the curse would ever be broken, India enjoyed a commanding 7-0 lead.
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