Top 5 ODI contests in the India-Pakistan rivalry

Venkatesh Prasad responds to Aamir Sohail’s taunts by castling his off stump

It’s a dead rubber but no India-Pakistan match is a dead rubber. It’s an unheard of thing.

India have already made the semifinals with their two victories against South Africa and West Indies, whereas Pakistan have bowed out after a disappointed outing. However, trust the two teams to be putting in more than their best on the day. It’s the mother of all clashes after all, and it’s always a lot more than just a game.

The Indian team will be on top of their batting game, having out-batted in their opponents in the last two matches. The newly formed opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma has garnered rave reviews and there has, perhaps, never been a more explosive middle order in Indian cricket. On the other hand, Pakistan’s exit has been the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Their pace battery is the most potent in the world, and their two spinners, Saeed Ajmal and Md. Hafeez, have troubled India in the past. There is certainly no better occasion to turn back the years and renew the rivalry with a look at the fiercest contests between these two teams.

1996 World Cup, Quarterfinal

Both the cricketing nations were going through a memorable phase as their sides boasted of some legends of the game. They met in the first round of knockout matches and India emerged victorious by 39 runs. The game was made memorable by an altercation between Aamir Sohail and Venkatesh Prasad. The flamboyant left-hander went out of his way to gesture to Prasad as if asking him to fetch the ball after he had flat-batted him through the off-side. Prasad, perhaps one of the more gentler human beings to have graced the game, shocked the viewers as he replied by knocking Sohail’s off stump over the very next ball. He accompanied this humiliation with a verbal send-off in which, let’s just say, pleasantries were not exchanged. The match was also made memorable for a scintillating knock of 93 runs by Navjot Singh Sidhu and a blitzkrieg of 45 runs of 25 balls by Ajay Jadeja.

3rd ODI, Pakistan’s Tour of India 1986-7

This tied match between Indian and Pakistan was played at Hyderabad and has been lost somewhere in the archives. After Ravi Shastri and Kapil Dev compiled a partnership to give India a respectable score of 212 against the joined forces of Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, Pakistan had cruised along by virtue of Saleem Malik’s 84 of 89 balls. However, a last ball mix-up saw Abdul Qadir go for an impossible second run and was run-out. The match was declared an India win as they had lost fewer wickets. However, it was later noted that India had only 3 players in the inner circle on the last ball. Call it fate.

2011 World Cup, Semifinal

The last edition of the world cup saw India and Pakistan contest a semifinal. Perhaps it could only have been better had it been a final, but what we had was tense enough. Nerves were all over the place in this match as Sachin Tendulkar made a rather fortunate 85 of 115 balls, during the course of which he was dropped 4 times, thrice off Shahid Afridi’s bowling. He was finally caught by Shahid Afridi himself. The mistakes came to kick Pakistan in the back, however, and they lost their golden chance as they succumbed to the eventual world cup winners.

2003 World Cup, Centurion

This was another World Cup clash that was made memorable by a keen contest between the two sides. There was a huge media buzz around the match with the Shoaib Akhtar – Sachin tendulkar battle being hailed as one to watch out for. Sachin triumphed on the day and hit a memorable six over the off side field that sent the crowd into a dizzy. If that was not enough, Virender Sehwag matched the little master with a twin blow to Waqar Younis, rattling away to a convincing win. The brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar that day overshadowed another great innings in the history of India-Pakistan rivalry, the 101 scored by Saeed Anwar. An honourable mention is also deserved for Anwar’s knock of 194 that stood as the highest ODI score for a long period of time. Anwar’s knock helped Pakistan win that match that was played in 1997 in the Pepsi Independence Cup.

Austral-Asia Cup final at Sharjah on April 18, 1986

No Indian cricket fan would perhaps be able to forget this match. The nightmare that it was to be hit by Javed Miandad for a six on the final ball with 4 runs required is a sore that will bleed forever. It made Chetan Sharma infamous for all his life, making a mockery of a day that saw him otherwise take 3 wickets for his team. It was a typical India-Pakistan game, with the Indian batting line-up taking on the Pakistan bowling attack. Sunil Gavaskar, Srikkanth and Vengsarkar all scored fifties to take India to a fighting total of 245, but all that was washed away by the masterful innings of Javed Miandad. He stood a lone-fighter in that Pakistan batting lineup with a score of 114 of 116 balls, and he scored that six with a number 11 batsman on the other end. Truly a historic day in the India- Pakistan rivalry.