6 lesser known facts about India-Pakistan

So here we go again. There was once a time when India-Pakistan clashes werent a rarity like it is these days. Terrorist threats have dented this glorious fixture more than we would want to admit, and we have to resort to waiting for tournaments like these to watch these two eternal rivals play against each other.It seems like we have caught somewhat of a lucky break here as Saturdays India-Pakistan clash at Eden Gardens is the second one we will witness this month. This rivalry is of the highest importance for both set of fans as there is quite some history between the two.We wont, however, look at what is relatively known. In fact, the purpose of this piece is knowing about the facts about these two teams as well as theclash itself. And here are 6 such facts

#1 Shahid Afridis bat

Shahid Afridi used Sachin Tendulkar’s bat to score his 37 ball century

Before AB de Villiers created the record for the fastest 100 in ODIs, the man who had a long reign over that title was none other than Boom Boom Afridi. The enigmatic Pakistani has always known just one way of batting: try to hit the ball out of the park in every single delivery.

And one fine day, it worked. He did manage to stay for 37 balls and hit almost every single one of them and managed to score a century in the process.

That is what we all know. However, what remains somewhat unknown is the fact that he used Sachin Tendulkar’s bat to score that century. Now question is, how did he get his hands on Sachin’s bat? Well, know about it in his own words.

"I had just got into the Pakistan team and during nets in Nairobi 'Wicky Bhai' [Waqar Younis] gave me a bat and said, play with this and see. It is Sachin's bat.

"It was a great honour for me to play with Sachin's bat for he was a great player. Sachin had given the bat to 'Wicky Bhai' and had asked him to get a similar bat made in Sialkot for him [Sachin]," Afridi said.

#2 Uncanny similarities

Javed Miandad hit the Asia Cup winning six in 1986

You know how they say that time is like a river and the river is a circle: hence, time is a never ending circle where things keep repeating itself in a very subtle way. And when you look at the amount of similarities between the Asia Cup India-Pakistan clashes of 1986 and 2014, you will get the gist of the aforementioned theory.

• Pakistan won the toss and chose to field first in both matches.
• Indian openers Krisnmachari Srikkanth and Rohit Sharma hit two sixes each.
• India scored 245 runs in both matches.
• Both Javed Miandad, in 1986, and Shahid Afridi, in 2014, hit three sixes each.
• Both matches ended with a six.
• Pakistan won both the matches by one wicket.
• Indian bowlers Chetan Sharma and Ravindran Ashwin—both of them bowled the last over—took three wickets each.
• In the 1986 clash, Chetan Sharma dismissed Pakistan's number 10 batsman Zulqarnain for a first-ball duck. In the Asia Cup ODI in 2014, Ashwin dismissed Pakistan's number 10 Saeed Ajmal for a first ball duck.
• Three Indian batsmen hit half-centuries in both matches — Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar in 1986; Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja in the Asia Cup match.
• There were two run-outs in Pakistan’s innings in both games — Saleem Malik and Wasim Akram in Sharjah; Misbah-ul-Haq and Sohaib Maqsood in Mirpur.

Strange, isn’t it?

#3 Obstructing the field

Something exactly like this happened with Inzamam-ul-Haq (Source: YouTube)

One of the most weirdest ways to get out in cricket is to hit a great shot straight to a fielder, who then throws it back at the stumps in an attempt to intimidate the batsman and the poor fellow gets the shock of his life and tries to defend himself by handling the ball or blocking it with his bat—and get himself out for obstructing the field in the process.

Something exactly like this happened with Inzamam-ul-Haq in a high-octane game between these two teams as he tried to defend himself by stopping a throw with his bat while being outside the crease. He was befuddled as he was asked to walk away.

Obstructing the field rarely happens, with only 6 such incidents taking place, but the fun fact is that out of the 6 batsmen that were dismissed for obstructing the field, 5 belonged to either India or Pakistan. Seems like someone must tell them that this ain’t gully cricket.

#4 Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan before playing for India

Tendulkar played for Pakistan in an exhibition match

This slide title is good enough to drop many jaws, perhaps induce heart attacks as well. But it is true. Sachin Tendulkar did play for Pakistan before padding up in the blue of India. Albeit in a practice game.

It was the 20th of January in 1987. Indian were playing Pakistan in an exhibition match to mark the golden jubilee of Cricket Club of India. In a 40 overs game, some Pakistani players went back to the hotel to get a rest and captain Imran Khan requested 2-3 extra players to fill the gaps in the field.

And that was it. The excited Sachin Tendulkar, then only 13 years old, asked if he could join. And he was allowed to, marking his debut for Pakistan instead of India.

#5 Pakistan have never been able to bowl out India

Pakistan failed to win the bowl-out in 2007

We all know that Pakistan have never been able to win against India in a World Cup, what is lesser known is the fact that the former couldn’t even get the latter all out in any of the 10 clashes that has taken place between them.

In the recent past, the closest Pakistan came to get all 10 wickets of India in a World Cup was in the 2007 T20 World Cup when India lost 9 wickets to post 141 runs on the board, in match which ended in a tie and had to be decided via a thrilling bowl out.

#6 Only one Indian century

Only Indian to score a centurry against Pakistan in the World Cup

Well, that’s right. As strange as it may sound, only one Indian player has scored a 100 against Pakistan in a World Cup game, despite the men in blue having won all their encounters thus far.

And it happened only last year when Virat Kohli scored a tremendous century to help India to a run-a-ball score of 300, in a game which the Men in Blue eventually won.

Not that Indians will mind, though, as they would much rather want their team to keep winning against Pakistan in the World Cup at the expense of their players not scoring a 100.