The marquee rivalry of the T20 World Cup 2021 is here: The India-Pakistan rivalry. Given the rare circumstances that the two teams only meet in ICC tournaments due to political tensions, this matchup is always considered special, producing some memorable results and classy individual performances previously.
Pakistan haven’t had luck in terms of succeeding against India in the global stage in T20Is, having lost all five matches when the two teams have previously met in ICC tournaments.
The two teams open their respective campaign with yet another face-off on 24 October at the Dubai International Stadium.
With the countdown towards the big clash nearing towards its conclusion, it’s only fair that we look at their previous duels in the ICC T20 World Cup:
2007 World T20, Group D: India win bowl out
14 September, 2007. The venue, Durban , played host to one of the most iconic India-Pakistan cricket matches yet: That famous tied match which then led to that infamous bowl-out which ended in India’s favour.
It had been more than 21 years since that Javed Miandad last-ball six which broke Indian hearts in the final of the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup, and stage was set for another epic at Kingsmead.
Shoaib Malik’s Pakistan won the toss and asked MS Dhoni-led India to bat first. None of the Indian top-order, barring Robin Uthappa (50), made valuable contributions to the team, with Gautam Gambhir (0), Virender Sehwag (5) and Yuvraj Singh (1) all being dismissed for single figures.
For Pakistan, it was all thanks to Mohammad Asif’s sensational new-ball spell that helped the Men in Green skittle the Indian top-order, as India were restricted to 19/3 by the fifth over, but Robin Uthappa at the other end, was still going strong.
Asif nailed his seaming deliveries, and had a great control bowling in overcast conditions. India, however, would go onto recover from a seemingly troubled position at 36/4 to 141/9, thanks to a 39-ball fifty from Uthappa, coupled with valiant knocks from skipper Dhoni (33) and Irfan Pathan (20).
Pakistan’s run chase of 142 got off to a shaky start. After Imran Nazir was dismissed in just the third over by RP Singh, Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal looked to stabilise the innings, only for the former to be edged and caught by Dhoni off Ajit Agarkar’s good length delivery.
Two more wickets, that of Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan put Pakistan in further trouble at 47/4 in the ninth, but then came Pakistan’s saviour Misbah-Ul-Haq, whose 35-ball 53 would keep Pakistan afloat in the game.
Shoaib Malik would be dismissed in the 15th, but it wasn’t until the 18th over after Shahid Afridi’s dismissal that tables would turn for Pakistan.
Yasir Arafat was the new man in, but Misbah would take strike on the fifth ball, the ball after Afridi’s dismissal. Misbah would finish the over with a four and a six to put Pakistan at 113/6 from 18 overs.
In the 19th, it was Arafat’s chance to join the party. He began with two boundaries off the first three balls of Agarkar’s over, before rotating strike to Misbah, who would add another boundary in the over to take Pakistan to 130/6 in 19 overs.
Pakistan needed 12 runs from six balls. Sreesanth was given the duty of bowling the last over to Arafat, who collected a single off the first ball. Misbah would then slam two fours in the next three balls, and Pakistan needed just one off the last two balls. On the fifth ball, Sreesanth unleashes a short of a length outside off, with Misbah trying to cut but eventually being beaten.
One needed fromone ball, with Misbah on strike. Misbah hits it towards cover region, but Yuvraj, running in, picks the ball and throws to Sreesanth waiting at non-strikers’ end, who whipped the bails off as Misbah was well short of the crease. Pakistan were 141/7, and a bowl-out prevailed.
India would go onto win the bowlout 3-0, thanks to accurate ones from Sehwag, Harbhajan and Uthappa, while Arafat, Umar Gul and Afridi would go onto miss the target.
Only a year later, bowl-outs would go on to be replaced by the traditional Super Over, with the decision being taken at the ICC Annual Conference 2008.
2007 World T20 final, Johannesburg
Just 10 days since that dramatic conclusion to their group game, India and Pakistan met once again, this time at the big stage: First-ever final of the World T20, at Johannesburg.
India won the toss and opted to bat. And while they lost Yusuf Pathan (15) and Robin Uthappa (8) early, Gautam Gambhir was into India’s rescue this time around.
Gambhir would go onto forge a 63-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh for the third wicket, with Gambhir making most of it with 47 runs.
Team India players celebrate after winning the World T20 in 2007. AFP
In the 13th over, Yuvraj Singh was caught and bowled by Umar Gul, but Gambhir had gone well past 50 to put India at 105/3 from 14 overs.
Dhoni joined Gambhir, but his stint was short-lived, being cleaned up by Gul in the 16th, leaving India at 114/4.
Rohit Sharma joined Gambhir at the other end, India were at a precarious position at the moment, but Gambhir, in the 18th over, would be the latest to fall to Umar Gul’s trap. India werein a spot of bother with their score reading 130/5 with two overs to go.
Rohit had Irfan Pathan at the other end, and he would let his bat do the talking, scoring a 16-ball 30 to take India to 157/5 from 20 overs.
Chasing 158, Pakistan lost Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal early, but would go past 50 thanks to the stand between Imran Nazir and Younis Khan. Nazir scored 33 and Younis 24, and what Pakistan lacked in the chase was converting a start into a big one.
Younis departed with Pakistan’s score reading 65/4, in the ninth, and enter Misbah once again. Misbah would keep losing partners at the other end, but he held his nerve. Gul’s dismissal in the 19th would later put Pakistan in trouble, with the score reading 145/9 with one over to go.
Pakistan needed 13 runs off six balls. Joginder Sharma was asked to bowl the last over, but he started off with a wide, going far outside off-stump. And after a dot in the re-bowled delivery, Misbah would unleash a six towards the stands, much under pressure. Pakistan needed six runs off four. Victory was just in sight, but Joginder’s full delivery on the stumps in the next one did the trick for India. Reading the full ball, Misbah went for the scoop shot over at short fine leg, only to find Sreesanth taking that famous catch to break millions of Pakistani hearts. Misbah made a bold move by going for that risky shot, but it was not meant to be for Misbah and Pakistan. That was it, India won the match by five runs, as well as the inaugural World T20 title, in a memory that would then be etched in the annals of India’s cricketing history.
2012 World T20, Group 2 match
India were coming on the back of a nine-wicket loss to Australia in the Super 8 game, and this match against Pakistan was all the more important. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first, but their decision to do so suffered a major setback.
Barring Shoaib Malik (28) and Umar Akmal (21), none of the Pakistan batters made noteworthy contributions, with Yuvraj Singh even striking twice to get rid of Nasir Jamshed and Kamran Akmal. To add to it, even Virat Kohli claimed a rare T20I wicket when he got rid of Hafeez in the 10th, to leave Pakistan reeling at 59/5.
What Pakistan needed was a substantial stand, and Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal forged a 47-run stand for the sixth to take Pakistan to 106/5 in the 16th over, before the former was dismissed by Ashwin.
India troubled the Pakistani batters, and all they could manage was a mere 128 in 19.5 overs.
Lakshmipathy Balaji finished with three scalps, while Ashwin and Yuvraj would get two each.
In reply, Gambhir was caught by bowled by Raza Hasan in the first over, but Virat Kohli (78) and Virender Sehwag (29) built a 74-run stand to put India in front by the halfway stage.
Despite the dismissal of Sehwag in the 11th, Kohli and Yuvraj (19) would make light work of the chase to seal an easy eight-wicket win.
2014 T20 World Cup, Super 10 stage
In the tournament that consisted of 16 teams for the first-ever time, India and Pakistan faced off in the Super 10 stage. Bangladesh joined Group 2, consisting of India, Pakistan, Australia and West Indies, from the preliminary round. The marquee clash was the opener of Group 2.
India chose to field after winning the toss. And despite losing Kamran Akmal early, cameos from Mohammad Hafeez (15) and Ahmed Shehzad (22) would lead Pakistan to 47/3 in the ninth over. But a flurry of wickets, those of Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi between the 16th and 19th overs would go onto hurt Pakistan, losing their momentum at 114/6 with just over one over remaining.
However, in the final over of Pakistan’s innings, it was almost a one-man show when Sohaib Maqsood went bonkers with a four and a six, before being run-out by Dhoni in the final ball of the innings. Fifteen runs would come from Shami’s over to take Pakistan to 130/7.
In reply, the Indian top order would once again make light work of the chase with Rohit Sharma (24), Shikhar Dhawan (30) among the runs, while Virat Kohli (36*) and Suresh Raina (35*) sealed the match with seven wickets and nine balls to spare. Saeed Ajmal, Bilawal Bhatti and Umar Gul would claim a wicket each.
India would go onto reach the final of this edition, where they lost to Lasith Malinga’s Sri Lanka, courtesy batting heroics from Kumar Sangakkara (52).
2016 T20 World Cup, Super 10 stage
Another T20 World Cup, another Super 10 stage. Just four days since they were humiliated by New Zealand after being bundled out for 79, the Men in Blue needed a motivation of sorts to keep themselves afloat.
Pakistan had failed to beat India on four of the previous occasions in the T20 World Cup, and this was an opportunity to finally end that drought.
India won the toss and opted to field at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with the match reduced to 18 overs due to rain. Sharjeel Khan (17) and Ahmed Shehzad (25) got Pakistan off to a confident start before the former was dismissed with the score reading 38/1 in the eighth over. Ahmed Shehzad would follow suit two overs later, and Shahid Afridi would struggle to find runs, but a 41-run stand between Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal would give them a glimmer of hope.
However, Pakistan were in a spot of bother at 101-4 in the 16th over and as soon as Umar Akmal was dismissed, Pakistan continued to stumble.
Pakistan were eventually restricted to 118/5 in 18 overs.
The first half of the match even meant that it was a turning pitch, and although India won the game, it wasn’t a fairytale finish as yet.
India stuttered to 23/3 in the fifth following dismissals of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, but a 61-run stand between Virat Kohli (55) and Yuvraj Singh (24) would take them right back in it. By the 12th over, India were 84/4, needing just 35 runs off 48 balls.
MS Dhoni came in at number six, and his cameo of 13* (6) was worthwhile, although it only consisted of just one six.
Kohli was almost into his 40s by the time Dhoni walked in, and Kohli would go on to score a match-winning half-century, which was added with calmness and composure under pressure situations.
India eventually romped home in the 16th over, with more than 13 balls, and six wickets to spare.
MS Dhoni and Co would reach the semi-finals of the tournament, where they would succumb to defending champions West Indies.