India vs Pakistan Cricket News

The India vs Pakistan rivalry is one of the fiercest rivalries in the game. Even though the bilateral ties between the two teams have been suspended for more than a decade now, this fixture never fails to create hype among cricket fans.

Since the suspension of the bilateral ties, India and Pakistan only play against each other in ICC competitions and the Asia Cup. They last played against each other in the 2024 T20 World Cup. It was a league-stage game in which India beat Pakistan by 6 runs in a low-scoring game.

The arch-rivals will be facing each other once again next year in the ICC Champions Trophy. The much-awaited Champions Trophy will get underway on 19 February next year while the final is scheduled to be played on March 9. With the cricketing world gearing up for another clash between India and Pakistan, we are revisiting the past games between the two sides in the Champions Trophy.

The first-ever Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan took place in 2004. Pakistan had won that game by 3 wickets in Birmingham. Batting first, India were bowled out for 200 runs. At one stage, the Men in Blue were reeling at 73/5 before a 67-run knock from Rahul Dravid helped them cross the 100-run mark.

Dravid was the only Indian player to reach 50 in that game. For Pakistan, Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Akhtar had picked up 4 wickets each. In reply, Pakistan chased down the total with four balls remaining. Pakistan were in a spot of bother too after being reduced to 27 for 3. However, Mohammad Yousuf's unbeaten knock of 81 runs took them home.

The second India vs Pakistan match in the Champions Trophy took place in the 2009 edition in South Africa. Pakistan won that game as well, beating India by 54 runs.

Batting first, Pakistan posted a big total of 302/9 in Centurion. Shoaib Malik led the charge with the bat for Pakistan, scoring 128 runs while Mohammad Yousuf also played a crucial knock of 87 runs. Ashish Nehra impressed with the ball, taking 4 for 55. With the bat, India were all out for 248 runs.

Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid scored half-centuries but their efforts were not enough to take India home. For Pakistan, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Amir, Saeed Ajmal, and Shahid Afridi claimed two wickets each.

India finally managed to beat Pakistan in the Champions Trophy in 2013 when they also went on to win the tournament. The Men in Blue came up with a brilliant bowling performance to bowl out Pakistan for a modest total of 165 runs. Asad Shafiq top-scored for Pakistan, scoring 41 runs.

For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja took 2 wickets each. With the bat, India chased down the revised total of 102 runs inside 20 overs.

In the 2017 Champions Trophy, India and Pakistan played against each other twice. Their first meeting took place during the group stage. India won that game by 124 runs. In the first India vs Pakistan match of the competition, India posted 319/3 in 48 overs thanks to half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Yuvraj Singh. In reply, Pakistan were all out for just 164 runs.

Pakistan avenged the loss in the final as they thrashed India by 180 runs to clinch the Champions Trophy title for the first time. Riding on Fakhar Zaman's century, Pakistan scored 338/4. In reply, India were all out for just 158 runs.

Overall, India and Pakistan have played 5 games against each other in the Champions Trophy so far. Of those five games, Pakistan have won three while India have won two.