The India-Pakistan rivalry is one of the most talked about sporting rivalries across the world. Often described as the greatest sporting grudge match in the world, India versus Pakistan has given birth to several iconic and landmark moments in cricket history. During the World Cup, the ‘El Clasico’ of cricket only gets more intense as the world watches the two cricketing giants go head-to-head.
The teams have met each other at the marquee event a total of seven times. Their most recent match was played in Manchester during the 2019 World Cup in England. The Men in Blue have won all of the World Cup games against their arch-rivals in the seven times they have met. Today let’s take a deeper dive into these encounters.
IND vs PAK 1992 Sydney
The arch-rivals met for the first time at a World Cup in the 1992 edition in Sydney. India’s then-skipper Mohammad Azharuddin chose to bat first in the game. Ajay Jadeja’s 46 runs in 77 balls and Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 54 runs helped India reach a total of 216 runs while losing seven wickets. In the second half of the match, Indian bowlers went on a rampage to dismiss the entire Pakistan side at a total of 173, winning by 43 runs.
Despite the setback, Pakistan were able to recover from this loss as they beat England in the final of the 1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup to write history.
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IND vs PAK 1996 Bangalore
Pakistan and India faced each other in the second game of the 1996 World Cup in Bangalore. India won the toss and elected to bat first in the match. It was Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar who stitched up a brilliant 90-run partnership to give India a brilliant start.
Later in the match, Ajay Jadeja added 45 runs in 25 balls to secure a 287-run total for India. Pakistan also had a good start into the second innings as Aamer Sohail smashed 55 runs while Saeed Answar added another 48. It was Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble who combined for six wickets to hand India a 39-run win.
IND vs PAK 1999 Manchester
India continued their winning ways in England and once again it was Mohammad Azharuddin to lead India for the third consecutive time at a World Cup. At the end of the toss, Pakistan found themselves on the bowling side. This time it was Rahul Dravid who played a phenomenal innings of 61 runs before Mohammad Azharuddin added 59 more to establish a total of 227.
In the second innings, Venkatesh Prasad picked up an impressive five-wicket haul to sink Pakistan’s batting offence. His heroics were enough to seal a 47-run win for India.
IND vs PAK 2003 Centurion
Heading into their fourth fixture in head-to-heads, India had a new captain in Sourav Ganguly who was rebuilding India’s squad by inducing fresh blood. Ganguly had already made a huge impact in the build-up to the 2003 World Cup stage. During the match, Pakistan were batting first as Saeed Anwar smashed a scintillating century against India.
His powerful innings helped Pakistan set a total of 273 runs. Sachin Tendulkar led India’s batting charge in the second innings as he belted 98 runs in only 75 balls. An unbeaten 50 runs from Yuvraj Singh in the closing stages secured a victory for India by six wickets.
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IND vs PAK 2011 Mohali
India’s fifth victory against their arch-rivals came in Mohali when the duo clashed in a high-octane semi-final for the first time in World Cup history. Sachin Tendulkar produced another master-class innings on the day as he smashed 85 runs for his side. His knock set a 260-run scoreline for Pakistan to chase.
India’s bowling line-up showed up in the second innings as Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh added two wickets each to win the game by 29 runs. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side later beat Sri Lanka in the final to win their second-ever World Cup trophy.
IND vs PAK 2015 Adelaide
India defended their crown in Adelaide as they took on Pakistan in their sixth World Cup affair. Virat Kohli scored a scintillating century which helped his side break the 300-run barrier for the first time against Pakistan at a World Cup.
Sohail Khan’s five-wicket haul was not enough to stop India from raining runs. In the second innings, Mohammad Shami scalped four wickets to curb Pakistan at 224 runs.
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IND vs PAK 2019 Manchester
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and star opener Rohit Sharma took Manchester by storm as the duo delivered some impressive knocks against Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup. Rohit scored 140 runs in 113 balls while Virat added another 77 runs to India’s tally. Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav combined for six wickets in the second innings to deliver an 89-run win for the nation.
IND vs PAK 2023 Ahmedabad
India made it 8-0 against Pakistan after a complete performance from the Men in Blue. Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian bowlers restricted the Pakistan batters to a below part total of 191. As many as five Indian bowlers picked up two wickets each. Indian captain captain Rohit missed out on a well-deserved century but scored 86 runs as he led the chase, before Shreyas Iyer hit a fifty to get India over the line in a commanding 7-wicket win.
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