The high-octane rivalry between India and Pakistan is all set to take center stage once again in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. The two neighbouring nations don’t face each other in bilateral series which increases the intensity, even more, when they clash in multi-nation tournaments.
The arch-rivals will start their Asia Cup campaign this year on August 28 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams will miss their key bowlers in the tournament as India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi are ruled out due to injuries.
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However, the spotlight will be on Virat Kohli who will be making his comeback to the squad after a short break from competitive cricket. The batting maverick has been going through a lean patch with the bat and he will be under pressure to cement a place in the T20 World Cup squad through his performance in Asia Cup.
India have a dominant record in the tournament over their arch-rivals with 8 wins out of 14 matches they faced each other while one of it ended in no result.
India vs Pakistan 1984 Asia Cup
Riding high on confidence after winning the 1983 World Cup, India started their domination in Asian cricket as they beat Pakistan by 54 runs and clinched the tournament played between three teams as Sri Lanka ended up as runner-up. Surinder Khanna was Player of the Match for his 56-run knock.
India vs Pakistan 1988 Asia Cup
The 1988 multi-nation tournament was played in Bangladesh as Arshad Ayub claimed a five-wicket haul against Pakistan to restrict them to a below-par score of 142. Veteran Mohinder Amarnath scored an unbeaten 74 to help India chase down the target with complete ease and won the tie by 4 wickets.
India vs Pakistan 1995 Asia Cup
It was the first time when Pakistan managed to get the better of the Men in Blue in the Asia Cup. Inzamam-ul-Haq scored 88 runs to help his team post a challenging total of 266/9 in 50 overs. In reply, India lost Manoj Prabhakar and Sachin Tendulkar’s wickets early and failed to recover after that. Navjot Sidhu (54) and Sanjay Manjrekar (50) fought hard but they were bundled out for just 169. Aaqib Javed was the standout performer with the ball and claimed a five-wicket haul as Pakistan won the match by 97 runs.
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India vs Pakistan 2000 Asia Cup
Mohammad Yousuf scored an unbeaten 100 as Pakistan posted 295-7 in 50 overs which turned out to be too much for the Indian team. Anil Kumble was the pick of the bowler for India as he claimed three wickets. While Ajay Jadeja was the lone warrior with the bat and hit 93 runs but Abdul Razzaq with 4 scalps bundled out the Men in Blue for 251.
India vs Pakistan 2004 Asia Cup
It was a clash where Shoaib Malik made a big name for himself with a sensational 143-run knock while batting at number 8. Sachin Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan shared three-wicket each but weren’t able to hurt Pakistan much as they scored 300-9. Chasing the mammoth target, Tendulkar also shone with the bat and hit 78 runs, however, he didn’t get much support from others as India lost the match by 59 runs.
India vs Pakistan 2008 Asia Cup – Group Stage
After the debacle in 2007 ODI World Cup, India went through a transition phase in the 50-over format under MS Dhoni’s leadership. In the group stage clash between two arch-rivals, Malik once again scored a ton against India as Pakistan put 299-4 on the scoreboard. In reply, Virender Sehwag (119) and Suresh Raina (84) helped the visitors chase down the target with complete ease to win the match by 6 wickets.
India vs Pakistan 2008 Asia Cup – Semifinal
After winning the group stage clash, India start favourites in the semifinal clash and posted a challenging 308-7 on the scoreboard. Skipper MS Dhoni scored 76 runs, while Rohit Sharma also made a valuable contribution with a 58-run knock. Pakistan chased down the target in 45.3 overs as Younis Khan scored 123 runs to help them register an 8-wicket victory.
India vs Pakistan 2010 Asia Cup
The 2010 clash between two arch-rivals made more headlines due to the on-field altercations between players of the two teams. The high-octane match witnessed heated arguments between Gautam Gambhir-Kamran Akmal and Harbhajan Singh-Shoaib Akhtar. The course of the game changed in the 47th over when Akhtar came on to bowl and Harbhajan hit him for a massive six which didn’t go down well with the Rawalpindi Express. On the last ball of the 49th over, Akhtar bowled a bouncer to the Indian off-spinner after which the duo got indulged in a war of words. The drama continued in the last over as well. India needed 2 runs off 3 balls and Bhajji swung his bat in full flow to send the ball out of the park and rivals Pakistan out of the tournament.
India vs Pakistan 2012 Asia Cup
In another intense clash, Virat Kohli scripted history with the bat in a 330-run chase. Batting first Pakistan had a great start with both openers – Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed – scoring a century each. Pakistan put a formidable 329/6 on the scoreboard. In reply, India had a poor start with opener Gautam Gambhir getting out for a duck. However, two of the greatest batters of all time – Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli changed the script with a 133-run stand. Kohli registered his highest individual score – 183 runs in just 148 balls to help India win the match by six wickets.
India vs Pakistan 2014 Asia Cup
It was one of the most thrilling contests between India and Pakistan in Asia Cup history. Batting first India posted a moderate target of 245/8 courtesy of fighting knocks from Rohit Sharma (56), Ambati Rayudu (58) and Ravindra Jadeja (52). Spin maestro Saeed Ajmal claimed three wickets which didn’t allow the Indian batters to settle. Chasing the target, Mohammad Hafeez’s 75 and a late power-hitting show from Shahid Afridi (34) helped Pakistan register a nervy 1 wicket victory.
India vs Pakistan 2016 Asia Cup
The Indian bowlers did wonders with the ball by hunting the Pakistan team in a pack and dismantled the opposition batting at a lowly score of 83 in the T20 contest. However, Mohammad Amir produced a scintillating performance with the ball while defending the short target. Amir dismissed Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina early to put India on the backfoot. But India had their very own run machine Virat Kohli for the rescue mission as he built a strong partnership with Yuvraj Singh to take his team close to the finish line. Kohli scored 49 runs as India won the match by 5 wickets.
India vs Pakistan 2018 Asia Cup – Group Stage
In the group stage contest, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first but failed to live up to the expectations and were bundled out for just 162. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/15) and Kedar Jadhav (3/23) were too good for the Pakistan batters as they failed to put up a challenge. It was an easy task for India as they won the match by 8 wickets after a solid start by Rohit Sharma (52) and Shikhar Dhawan (46).
India vs Pakistan 2018 Asia Cup – Super Four Stage
It was another one-sided contest for India as Rohit (111*) and Dhawan (114) slammed centuries to set up the foundation for a massive 9-wicket victory. The Men in Blue produced a collective performance with the ball to restrict Pakistan to 237/7 in 50 overs. The star Indian openers shared a massive 210-run stand as the Men in Blue didn’t sweat much while chasing the target.
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