Top 5 most exciting Indo-Pak clashes of all time-

The biggest rivalry in cricket will resume again on Wednesday as India take on Pakistan in Asia Cup. With Virat Kohli missing from the Indian side, it gives Pakistan an excellent chance to get one over their arch-rivals. It will be the first meeting between the two sides after India loss at the Champions Trophy final to Pakistan last year.

As the two countries don’t engage in bilateral cricket series, fans are treated to Indo-Pak contests only in multi-lateral events which makes such contests even more exciting. Indo-Pak clash has always promised fireworks.

There has been plenty of nail-biting contest between the two countries. We take a look at some of the matches which kept the fans on the edge of their seats.

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#5 India vs Pakistan, 1996 World Cup Quarterfinal, Bangalore

There are not many bigger occasions in world cricket than an India-Pakistan World cup clash. After winning the toss and batting first, India got off to a fantastic start as openers Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar put on 90 runs for the first wicket.

A middle-over slowdown brought Pakistan back into the game but some terrific hitting in the death overs by Ajay Jadeja helped India post an impressive score of 287 runs on the board.

In reply, Pakistan got off to a flier courtesy a whirlwind fifty by captain Aamer Sohail. Sohail got engaged in a verbal duel with Venkatesh Prasad only to see his stumps knocked over off the very next ball.

Pakistan lost the crucial wickets of Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq in the next few overs and the likes of Saleem Malik and Javed Miandad could not keep up with the asking run rate. India went on to register a famous win.

#4 Silver Jubilee Independence Cup Final, 1998, Dhaka

A typical Indo-Pak clash that went down to the wire. Pakistan’s team of that time was highly competitive and had plenty of match winners. Batting first, Pakistan set a world record target of 315 runs for India, thanks to centuries from Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed.

In reply, India started off well as Tendulkar took them to 71/0 in 8.1 overs before falling to Shahid Afridi. Sourav Ganguly and Robin Singh stitched together a 180-run partnership for the second wicket to make sure that India was in control of the chase.

However, drama followed as India lost six wickets but somehow succeeded in holding their nerves as Hrishikesh Kanitkar smashed a famous boundary on the penultimate ball of the match to take India home.

#3 India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2014, Mirpur

This match is best remembered for Shahid Afridi’s heroics. A young Indian side led by Virat Kohli was inserted into bat by Pakistan. The fifties from Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja helped India post a target of 246 runs for their arch-rivals.

In reply, Pakistan’s charge was led by their top order with Mohammad Hafeez top scoring with 75 runs. With 11 runs required off the last 10 balls, and four wickets still in hand, Pakistan appeared to be cruising home. However, three wickets fell in quick succession. 10 runs were needed off the final over.

Shahid Afridi smashed one over extra cover to raise Pakistani hopes. With only three needed off three, Afridi tried to lift Ashwin out of the park again. This time he went over long-on, and though he seemed to have miscued it, it too sailed over the rope, clinching a tense win for Pakistan.

#2 Australasia Cup Final, 1986, Sharjah

Another India-Pakistan match that went down to the wire. A capacity crowd of 20,000 witnessed an epic Australasia Cup Final. Fifties from openers Kris Srikkanth and Sunil Gavaskar helped India post a competitive score of 245 runs.

Pakistan got off to a slow start as it lost 3 wickets with just 61 runs on the board. But the star of the show Javed Miandad, played an astonishing innings to keep Pakistan in the game. Four runs were required off the last ball with just one wicket in hand.

Bowler Chetan Sharma went for the yorker but missed with the execution as Miandad cleared the boundary roped over mid-wicket to trigger wild celebrations in the Pakistani camp.

#1 India’s tour of Pakistan, 1st ODI, 2004, Karachi

This match saw a world record (at that time) 693 runs scored in the match. It was India’s first tour to Pakistan in more than 16 years. Batting first, India got off to a terrific start as Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar blasted Pakistani new ball attack to all parts of the ground.

India raced to 150 runs in just 15 overs before some excellent bowling brought the hosts back in the game. Chasing a hefty target of 350 runs, Pakistan lost both the openers in the first 8 overs before Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana turned it all around with an outstanding partnership of 135 from a mere 20 overs.

Murali Karthik got the important wickets of Inzamam and Younis Khan to keep India in the game. With 9 runs required off the last over, Ashish Nehra held his nerve and bowled a dream over conceding just 3 runs to hand India the game.

Pakistan made 344 runs, a world record total made by a side chasing but still ended up losing the game.