World Cup History: Four iconic moments from the India-Pakistan rivalry

The India-Pakistan rivalry in cricket is one of the most intense and celebrated rivalries in sports. With the past history and recurring off-field tensions between the two countries, the match is of utmost importance to the fans on both sides. The stakes get even higher when the match takes place on the biggest platform, the World Cup. Additionally, since the teams now face each other only in ICC tournaments, there is huge excitement and eagerness amongst the fans.

The World Cup matches between the two have always lived up to the hype and have given some iconic moments that are forever stored in the minds of the people.

Till date the Indian team holds the bragging rights as they have maintained their 100 percent win record against Pakistan in both the 20 and the 50 over World Cups and with the teams set to face each other on Sunday in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, it’ll be exciting to see how the new chapter in this evergreen rivalry unfolds.

Here we look at 4 iconic moments from the past encounters of both the teams on the biggest platform of the sport.

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#4 World Cup 2003: "That" cut shot

One of most iconic shots in ODI cricket

One of the much anticipated individual clashes in the 2003 World Cup, was that of Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar. On one side was Tendulkar - who by that time had established himself into one of the world’s best batsmen. On the other side, Akhtar was an exciting fast bowler who was touted to be the heir to the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Fans across the globe wanted to see this battle of quick pace bowling of Akhtar against the elegant and majestic batting of Tendulkar.

Even though before this encounter, Akhtar had managed to trouble Sachin with his pace but things changed post this match. The Indian batsmen gained the bragging rights this time around as he conquered the challenge thrown at him and among all of this, he produced one of the most memorable moments of this arch-rivalry - the cut shot for six in the match's second over.

Akhtar’s short and wide delivery was sent into stands over the point region by Tendulkar. This was followed up by a couple of more boundaries in the next few balls and Sachin continued to dominate in that match and ended up scoring a match-winning knock of 98.

#3 World T20 2007: The last over drama

Pakistan v India - Twenty20 Championship Final

2007 ODI World Cup was a forgettable one for both India and Pakistan as both the countries failed to make it past the group stage. Thankfully, the inaugural edition of T20 World Cup happened in the same year and both the teams bounced back as they managed to reach the final. This set-up another classic India-Pakistan match and since it was the final, there was a lot at stake.

The match lived up to its hype and after amazing performances by players from both teams, it all came down to the last over. Pakistan needed 13 runs in the last over and India needed 1 wicket to win the match. But with the impressive batting form of Misbah-ul-Haq, it seemed like an achievable score. Whereas, the pressure was on the newly appointed Indian skipper, MS Dhoni, as he had to choose between the experienced Harbhajan Singh and the unfamiliar Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over.

Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder Sharma, which surprised many at that point of time. The decision started to seem regrettable after the bowler gave away 7 runs of the first two deliveries - a wide and a six. However, the Pakistan skipper played the scoop shot on the next ball looking for a boundary at fine leg but he failed as Sreesanth took the catch.

Apart from being an iconic moment in the rivalry, in retrospect, this over holds a lot of relevance as it gave rise to a cricketing genius - MS Dhoni.

#2 World Cup 1992: The mimicry

This is where it all started as India and Pakistan were playing against each other in a World Cup for the first time. Given the nature of the battle and that too on the biggest platform, the stakes were obviously high and there was immense pressure on players.

India opted to bat first, with contributions from Sachin Tendulkar (52) and Kapil Dev (25), the team put up a total of 216 runs. In response, the Pakistan team didn’t start off well as they lost a couple of early wickets and were looking very shaky. But with the experience and talent of Aamir Sohail and Javed Miandad, they started to stabilize the innings.

It was during this partnership that one of the most peculiar, funny yet iconic moment took place. Miandad was constantly disturbed with Kiran More’s enthusiasm and words from behind the wickets. Even though the batsman addressed this issue with umpires, his plea was not heard.

It reached the threshold point for Miandad as immediately after surviving a run-out chance, the Pakistan batsman jumped up and down with the bat in his hands trying to emulate More’s over-enthusiasm. Even though India won that match, the occasion will always be remembered for this particular instance.

#1 World Cup 1996: Sohail v/s Prasad

This moment is at the pinnacle of all the memorable moments of this rivalry. It was the quarter-final stage of the 1996 World Cup and just like every time, it was going to be a heated competition between the two arch-rivals.

The Indian side showcased a fine batting performance as they finished at 287 runs in 50 overs. In response, the Pakistani side had a flying start, thanks to their openers Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar, who were dominating the bowlers. After an 84 run partnership, Anwar got out but to India’s dismay, there was no stopping Sohail as he continued to build on the flying start.

However, Venkatesh Prasad had other ideas. When he came on to bowl 15th over, he not only changed the course of the match but also produced an iconic moment that is still fresh in the minds of the people.

After two consecutive dot balls, Sohail dispatched the second last ball of the over for a boundary and walked down the pitch to taunt Prasad by pointing towards the boundary with his bat. But the Indian fast bowler gave a fitting reply on the very next ball as he clean bowled Sohail!

Sohail’s wicket proved to be the game-changing moment as from there, India got the hold on the match and ended up winning by 39 runs.