ICC T20 World Cup: 5 Most Iconic Clashes Between India And Pakistan

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are all set to lock horns in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. The International Cricket Council, on Friday, announced the groups of the marquee quadrennial event, and on expected terms, India and Pakistan have been placed in the same group.

India and Pakistan are part of Group 2 of the Super-12 stage alongside New Zealand and Afghanistan. The winner of Group B from the Qualifying round- Scotland, Bangladesh, PNG, Oman- and the runners-up of Group A- Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, and Namibia- will join the aforementioned four teams.

India and Pakistan have squared off in 8 T20Is in history and it is fair to say that the contest has been pretty one-sided. India has won each of their previous five T20 World Cup encounters against their arch-rivals and the only game that Pakistan has managed to win in the shortest format of the game came during the 2012 bilateral series on Indian soil.

Having said that, there have been some pretty memorable T20I games between the fierce rivals over the years.

On that note, here’s a look at 5 iconic clashes between India and Pakistan in ICC T20 World Cup:

2016 T20 World Cup, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Result- India won by 6 wickets

India endured a shock defeat- and a heavy one; 47 runs- at the hands of New Zealand in their 2016 T20 World Cup campaign opener, leaving them on a knife-edge as far as qualifying for the next round was concerned.

Their next game was against arch-rivals Pakistan at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata and another slip-up could have sent them packing from their own party.

On a pitch where run-scoring proved to be difficult thanks to a plethora of rain leading into the encounter, Pakistan batted 1st and posted 5/118 in 18 overs.

Ashish Nehra and Ravindra Jadeja were the pick of the bowlers as they registered figures of 1/20 in 4 overs respectively.

However, just like the Asia Cup encounter earlier that year, India found themselves in a lot of trouble against the Pakistani pacers and were reduced to 3/23 in just 4.4 overs.

But, once again, it was that man again- that genius again- Virat Kohli who stood like a rock between India and a certain defeat.

In what was a masterclass on how to bat in pressure situations, Virat Kohli smashed a match-winning 37-ball 55* and with the help of valuable contributions from Yuvraj Singh (24 off 23) and MSD (13* off 9) took India past the finishing line in 15.5 overs. Needless to say, Virat won his 2nd ICC T20 World Cup ‘Player of the Match’ award against Pakistan.

2012 T20 World, Super-8, Colombo

Result- India won by 8 wickets

India’s net run rate had taken a severe beating following their nine-wicket mauling at the hands of Australia in the opening game of the Super-8. After having restricted the much-vaunted Indian batting unit to a mere 7/140 in 20 overs, the Australians smashed the MS Dhoni-led unit’s bowlers to all corners and gunned down the total in just 14.5 overs.

The 9-wicket shellacking at the hands of Australia was India’s 7th consecutive defeat in the Super-8 stages- they’d lost all six Super-8 games in the previous two World Cups- of the T20 championship.

And, so, leading into the must-win game against arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo, India not only had to break the Super-8 hoodoo but also had to ensure that they kept their proud record of having not lost a game against their arch-rivals in World Cups [50/T20].

And, they did exactly that as the much-hyped Indo-Pak fixture ended up in an anti-climax. Pakistan was never really in the game. They batted first but thanks to brilliant bowling from the trio of L. Balaji (3/22 in 3.4 overs), R. Ashwin (2/16 in 4 overs), and Yuvraj Singh (2/16 in 3 overs), they could only manage a mere 128 in 19.4 overs.

Chasing a poultry total of 129 on a flat surface was never going to be an issue for Team India, and it didn’t. Even though Pakistan dismissed their past nemesis Gautam Gambhir for a second-ball duck, Virat Kohli, who scored an unbeaten 78 off 61 balls, alongside Virender Sehwag (29 off 24) and Yuvraj Singh (19 not out off 16), guided Team India to a comfortable 8-wicket win.

Kohli was eventually conferred with the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his brilliant 78* and 1/21 in 3 overs.

T20 World Cup 2014, Group 2, Dhaka

Result- India won by 7 wickets

The build-up to the 2014 T20 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan was interesting. And, that’s because for the first time in so many years, Pakistan had been billed as favorites by pundits and fans.

And, there were good reasons behind Pakistan getting billed as ‘favorites’. They had just beaten India in the 50-over Asia Cup encounter where Shahid Afridi famously hit a six off R. Ashwin in the final to seal the deal. Moreover, India’s form leading into the T20 WC was extremely poor. They had failed to win a single game, albeit in ODIs, during their winter tours of South Africa and New Zealand besides failing to qualify for the finals of the Asia Cup.

The pressure was on the Men in Blue to not only shrug off their poor form but also maintain their proud records in World Cups against Pakistan.

As for Pakistan, they had to ensure that they get don’t get overwhelmed by the ‘favorites tag’.

Unfortunately for Pakistan fans, that is exactly what happened. Their team once again wilted under pressure against India and, as a result, they were handed a seven-wicket defeat.

Just like the 2012 game between these two sides, Pakistan batted first and once again, they failed to drive home the advantage thanks to some brilliant spin-bowling by Amit Mishra (2/22 in 4 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/18 in 4 overs).

None of the Pakistani batters could take the game by the scruff off its neck and it was only due to some late lusty blows by Sohaib Maqsood (21 off 11) that they managed to post 7/130 in 20 overs.

Chasing 131, Shikhar Dhawan (30 off 28), and Rohit Sharma (24 off 21) gave India a steady start courtesy of a 54-run-stand in 8 overs. A flurry of wickets in the form of both openers and Yuvraj Singh within a space of the next 2.1 overs gave Pakistan some hope but the duo of Virat Kohli (36 not out off 32) and Suresh Raina, who smashed an unbeaten 28-ball 35 guided India to their 4th consecutive win over their arch-rivals in T20 World Cups.

T20 World Cup 2007, Group-Stage match, Durban

Result- India won by 3-0 

India and Pakistan locked horns for the first time in T20Is in the group stage of the inaugural T20 World Cup and it proved to be a game for the ages.

Batting first, India endured a horrendous start as Mohammad Asif knocked over their top-order to reduce them to 4/36 in the 7th over.

However, a counter-attacking 39-ball 50 from Robin Uthappa and valuable contributions from MS Dhoni (33 off 31), Irfan Pathan (20 off 15), and Ajit Agarkar (14* off 9) ensured that India posted a defendable total of 9/141.

Chasing 142, Pakistan also suffered a poor start as they were reduced to 4/47 in the 9th over. By the time, Shoaib Malik (20 off 18) and Shahid Afridi (7 off 9), looked all doom and gloom for Pakistan as they still require a further 39 runs in just 14 balls..

However, Misbah-ul-Haq (53 off 35)  had other ideas as he unleashed one hell of a counterattack to breathe life into the contest.

With 12 needed off the last 6 balls, Misbah smashed Sreesanth for a couple of fours and squeezed in a couple, leaving Pakistan just one run away from a famous win.

However, the pressure eventually got to Misbah as he played consecutive dot balls before getting run out on the final delivery to ensure a famous tie.

The tiebreaker was decided by the ‘bowl out’ which India won 3-0 as the likes of Sehwag, Harbhajan and Uthappa hit the bullseye as opposed to Gul, Arafat, and Afridi.

2007 T20 World Cup final, Johannesburg

Result- India won by 5 runs

Given the manner in which both India and Pakistan had played throughout that World Cup, it was only fitting that both of them made it to the summit clash of the inaugural T20WC.

And, it proved to be a game for the ages as Misbah once again faltered at the final hurdle.

Just like the group-stage encounter, India once again batted first and on the back of a brilliant 54-ball 75 from Gautam Gambhir and a handy 16-ball 30 by Rohit Sharma, posted 5/157 in 20 overs.

And, in a similar pattern to the group stage encounter, Pakistan, despite a whirlwind knock from Imran Nazir (33 off 14 balls), always looked behind the eight ball as RP Singh (3/26 in 4 overs) and Irfan Pathan (3/16 in 4 overs) ransacked their top and middle order, leaving them reeling at 6/77 after 11.4 overs.

However, just when it looked that Pakistan was down and out, Misbah-ul-Haq once again proved to be a thorn in India’s flesh.

Misbah launched a stunning counterattack on the Indian bowlers, especially Harbhajan Singh, and while the Indians kept chipping in with wickets at the other end, the equation eventually boiled down to 13 runs off the last six balls.

Dhoni had the option of giving the final over to the experienced Harbhajan Singh but instead, he took a punt on Joginder Sharma. It looked like Dhoni had made a blunder when Sharma bowled a wide before conceding a six in the first two deliveries.

With just six runs to get off 4 balls and one wicket left, Misbah went for the scoop shot and it eventually proved to be his undoing as Sreesanth held on to the catch at short fine-leg to help India lift the inaugural T20 World Cup title.

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