The most widely anticipated match of the tournament will be this match on October 24, i.e. tomorrow when India take on Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup, 2021. It will be played in Dubai. Ever since cricketing relations came to a halt between these two countries due to political issues, cricket fans look forward to ICC tournaments where they are bound to meet. These matches draw humongous crowds and record earth-shattering TRPs. It will not be any different this time too. However, on paper, India is a far superior team but one cannot discount Pakistan in big tournaments as was evidenced during the 2017 Champions Trophy finals.
Having said that, a match between the two cricketing Asian giants is not simply a game of cricket. It is much more than cricket. It carries the emotion of more than 1.5 billion people who reside in the two countries. The players are under enormous pressure as every person is glued to their television screens.
It is an unmatched record by India to defeat Pakistan in all 12 ICC world cup games that the two nations have played. We look at 5 times the two countries met in world cups of different formats and how India trounced their nemesis.
1. 1999 ODI World Cup
The world cup was held in England and it was a league stage match. India and Pakistan met at the Emirates Old Trafford stadium in Manchester. India put up a substantial score of 227 with Tendulkar, Dravid and Azharuddin making valuable contributions. With Pakistan going into bat, Venkatesh Prasad ran through their batting and picked up 5. Pakistan bundled out for 180 and India won it comfortably by 47 runs.
2. 2003 ODI World Cup
This was arguably India’s best world cup after the 1983 win. In the league games, they met Pakistan and the match was played in Centurion, South Africa. Tendulkar was in the form of his life. He cut the fierce Shoib Akhtar for a six and that remains etched in the hearts of Indian cricket lovers. Pakistan had put up a stiff total of 273. However, Tendulkar with 98 and Yuvi with a 50 chased it down comfortably with 6 wickets and more than 4 overs to spare.
3. 2019 ODI World Cup
This is the most recent encounter and India had their most dominating performance in the match. India put up a mammoth 336 thanks largely to Rohit Sharma’s 140. There was some rain and the match was reduced to 40 overs with Pakistan needing around 300 to win. However, they could only manage 212 and lost the battle by 89 runs.
4. 2012 T20 World Cup
India met Pakistan in the Super Eights and this match was played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Pakistan was put to bat and they could manage a paltry total of 128 before getting all-out. In response, Kohli came out all guns blazing and scored 78 not out. India thumped Pakistan by 8 wickets.
5. 2011 ODI World Cup
This match was one of the highest stakes matches for India and it makes it to the list by just the fact that it carried so much importance for the Indian team. It was a world cup hosted by India and India had made it to the semis. It was most probably Tendulkar’s last world cup so it was imperative for the team to win. India was put to bat and they could manage 260 in 50 overs. This total was not the most challenging total but the world cup pressure added to Pakistan’s woes and they bundled out for 231. India proceeded to the finals with a 29 runs win.
