India vs. Pakistan rivalry in the World Cup has been going on for 31 years. 50-over format, and now in t20, both teams have faced each other numerous. India maintains a strong record against Pakistan in the World Cup.
The rivalry has been the topic of numerous controversy. However, this is also where we have seen countless moments of chivalrous sportsmanship. Today, we will discuss how India and Pakistan have faced each other in ICC World Cup competitions. We are going to look at every one of the matches to better understand the rivalry of neighbors.
ICC WC 1992
India and Pakistan first met each other in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The match was played in Sydney Stadium. It was also a day and night match. Mohammad Azharudding was the Indian Captain, and for Pakistan, it was Imran Khan.
India won the toss and decided to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar also played in this match for India. He was also the highest scorer for India, scoring 56 runs in 62 balls. India made 216/7 in 49 overs. Mushtaq Ahmed took 3 wickets for Pakistan.
Nowadays, 200+ runs do not seem a lot. But remember, it was a different era. There was no powerplay to help the batsmen, and batsmen were generally accustomed to test-style batting, so chasing this run was also difficult.
Pakistan was all out within 173 runs, and India won the match by 43 runs. Amer Sohail made the highest 62 runs for Pakistan. The match marked the beginning of unforgiving domination in the World Cup for India against Pakistan.
ICC WC 1996
The World Cup was jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Although the match between India and Pakistan was played in Bengaluru, India. India used the home-ground advantage to the fullest and won the match.
India also won the toss in this match and decided to bat first. Navjot Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar started for India. Sidhu made 93 runs in 115 balls. Ajay Jadeja made the second-highest 45 runs. Both these innings ensured a good total, and India made 287/8 in 50 overs. Except for Ataur Rehman, all the other Pakistani bowlers were quite expensive. This was a very high total to chase in those days.
However, Pakistan started the match with promises. The opening partnership was 84 runs. After which, no Pakistani batsman could show any sturdy resolve. The Pakistani team made 248/9 in 50 overs. India won the match by 39 runs. Navjot Singh Sidhu was named man of the match.
ICC WC 1999
The two rivals met each other in Manchester after 3 years. India won the toss once again and decided to bat first.
Rahul Dravid made 65 runs, which was the highest for India. Mohammad Azharudding made 59 runs as a captain. This was his third captainship against Pakistan in a World Cup. Wasim Akram and Azhar Mahmood took 2 wickets each for Pakistan. India made 227/6 in 50 overs.
In return, Pakistan were all out within 180 runs. Inzamam-ul-Haq was the highest scorer for Pakistan. Venkatesh Prasad took 5 wickets for India in order to seal the victory. He was also the man of the match. Indians were still undefeated against them.
ICC WC 2003
This time, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan started the game well enough. However, they lost wickets as they went on. Saeed Anward hit a century after getting out. Pakistan stopped at 273/7 in 50 overs. Indian bowlers were relatively inexpensive, except for Ashish Nehra.
Indian batsmen solved any problems that their bowlers had. Sachin Tendulkar scored 98 runs, and Yuvraj Singh scored 50 runs. India made 276/4 in 45.4 overs. India won the match with 6 wickets in hand. Shoaib Akhter and Waqar Younis gave away important runs while bowling.
India won for the fourth time against Pakistan in the World Cup.
ICC T20 WC 2007
India and Pakistan in the first edition of T20 WC in the group stage. The match was tied. Durban stadium saw something unexpected that day.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. Indian openers were unsuccessful in this match. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag went back to the pavilion with only 9 runs on the scoreboard. Robin Uthappa made a half-century and compelled India to make 141 runs in 10 overs. Pakistani Bowlers Mohammad Asif had taken 4 wickets in this match.
Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq made a half-century, and apart from him, there were no memorable innings in this match for Pakistan. Pakistan team made 141/7 and tied the match. They will not be so close to winning against India for 14 years.
ICC WC 2007 (T20 ) final
India met Pakistan again in the same World Cup in the final. India won the toss and decided to bat first. Gautam Gambhir played a 75-run innings in 54 balls. This will go down one of his important performances. The partnership between him and Yuvraj Singh kept India in the game. India finally made 157/5 in 20 overs. Umar Gul took 3 wickets for Pakistan.
Imran Nazir started strong for the Pakistani team. However, their wickets kept falling and falling. Apart from Misbah-ul-Haq, no one showed any stellar performance. Pakistan could only make 152 runs, just 5 runs away from winning the final. They were all out. RP Singh and Irfan Pathan kept Pakistan from being dangerous. Irfan Pathan had an economy rate of 4.00, which is unbelievable in T20. He was awarded Man of the Match for his performance.
ICC WC 2011
Pakistan and India meet once again in Mohali. This match was the semi-final of the arch-rivals. Mohali’s wicket is favorable to batsmen, so India won the toss and decided to bat first.
India started the innings with speed. Till the first wicket, they had made 48 runs in just 5.5 overs. After Virender Sehwag got out and ended the partnership, Sachin Tendulkar did what he did best. He single-handedly ruined any aspirations Pakistan had with regard to their bowling. Sachin made 85 runs in 115 balls. Wahab Riaz almost destroyed the other side of the Indian batting line-up. He took 5 wickets. He is the reason why India did not cross the 300-run mark. India made 260/9 runs in 50 overs. Pakistan had a target of 261.
Pakistan started the match by showing promise. They were good at first. However, soon the dice began to roll. The Indian bowlers equally feasted on Pakistani batsmen as they all had 2 wickets each. Mohammad Hafeez had shown some early resistance. Once again, Misbah-ul-Haq did all he could to save Pakistan, but he could not. Pakistani innings were wrapped up within 231 runs.
India won the match by 29 runs, and their winning streak continued.
ICC WC (T20) 2012
India and Pakistan met once again in the T20 format of the World Cup in Columbo. This was a pretty low-scoring match. However, India remained triumphant. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
They had no notable innings in this match. Balaki took 3 wickets for India. Ashwin and Irfan Pathan got 2 each. Virat Kohli got a wicket as well. Pakistani side soon crumbled in front of Indian bowling. Their highest individual run was 28, made by Shoaib Malik.
Gautam Gambhir was caught and bowled by Raza Hasan in the second bowl of the match. After that, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, and Yuvraj Singh won the match for India. Virat Kohli made 78 runs in 61 balls, solidifying India’s victory. He was also named man of the match.
ICC WC(T20) 2014
The T20 World Cup took place every two years, so India and Pakistan met once again in 2014 at Mirpur Stadium, Bangladesh. Mirpur’s pitch is notorious for favoring spin bowlers over everyone. India won the toss and decided to field first.
Apart from Umar Akmal’s 33-run innings, no Pakistani batsman showed any resolve. Indian bowlers were crucial with their line and length. They remained inexpensive for a T20 match. The result was Pakistan only put 130/7 on the scoreboard. In return, India won the match with 7 wickets in hand.
Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina’s partnership of 66-run partnership sealed the deal for India.
ICC WC 2015
India and Pakistan met again in the ODI World Cup at Adelaide Stadium. Pakistan lost this match again. This would be their 10th loss in the World Cup against India.
India decided to bat first. They wanted to use the fast pitch of Adelaide to their advantage. Virat Kohli had an innings of 104 runs, and Suresh Raina scored 74 runs. Due to these innings, India secured 300 runs in 50 overs. The last couple of wickets slowed down India’s aggression. Sohail Khan took 5 wickets for Pakistan. Although, India would not need even 300 runs in this match.
In the next innings, Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad showed some resolve initially. Misbah-ul-Haq played a 76-run innings in hopes of Saving Pakistan’s innings. Mohammad Shami-Umesh Yadav-Mohit Sharma’s combination rendered Pakistani innings useless. India won the match by 76 runs.
ICC WC(T20) 2016
India and Pakistan played this T20 match on the historic ground of Eden Garden, Kolkata. India elected to field first.
The match was set to be played only 18 overs due to complications. Ahmed Shehzad made 25 runs, Umar Akmal made 22 runs, and Shoaib Malik made 26 runs. Naturally, the game was not high-scoring from Pakistan’s end. Indian Bowlers were inexpensive but took only 5 wickets.
Virat Kohli scored 55 runs and won the match for India. He had partnerships with Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh to defeat Pakistan in this match. India took 15.5 overs to reach the target.
ICC WC 2019
This match was played in Manchester, England. This is also India’s highest-scoring match against Pakistan. Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. One of the biggest mistakes to make in Manchester.
Rohit Sharma played a mesmerizing 140-run innings, and Virat Kohli supported the team with his responsible yet quick 77-run innings. Team India made 336/5 in 50 overs. Mohammad Amir tried desperately to stop India’s advance. He bowled 10 overs, took 3 wickets, and had an economy rate of 4.70 in such a high-scoring match. However, nobody helped him.
Pakistan’s target was reduced to 302 runs in overs due to rain. Pakistan started the match somewhat perfectly. Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam had a partnership of 104 runs, which was creating a bit of a problem for India. However, Pakistan’s batting crumbled like a crouton after this partnership. The entire team made 212/6. India won by 89 runs.
ICC WC(T20) 2021
This is the only match that Pakistan has won against India in the World Cup. They won the match with style.
Pakistan elected to field first. Rishab Pant played really well for India. Virat Kohli made the team’s highest 57 runs, and India made 151/7, which is a very good target in T20. Shaheen Afridi took 3 wickets for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s opening partnership was flawless in this match. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had a 152-run partnership and won the match with 13 balls in hand. Rizwan made 79 runs, and the rest was made by Azam. With this match, India’s 29 years of domination came to an end.
ICC WC(T20) 2022
India went back to their winning streak with this match. India won the toss and elected to field first. Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed both had half-centuries in this match. Pakistan scored 159/8 in 20 overs. Arshdepp Singh took 3 Pakistani wickets.
Virat Kohli beat Pakistan almost single-handedly again in this match. He made 82 runs in 53 balls. Hardik Pandya’s 40 runs innings was also crucial. India made 160/6 in 20 overs and won the match by 4 wickets.
Pakistan is yet to beat India in the ODI format of the World Cup. Whether or not Pakistan will break that record depends on WC 2023 in October. Pakistan vs. India is the most viewed match in cricket. Although India has won, almost all the matches do not make it less exciting for Pakistani fans either. The rivalry between them shall continue as long as cricket exists.
