Rohit Sharma (left) with Babar Azam (AFP Photo)
India vs Pakistan which is set to take place tomorrow, take a look at the last five ODI matches between the two rival nations.
The highly anticipated match between India vs Pakistan is right around the corner with the two arch-rivals set to face off in the group stage of the Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday, September 2. Rohit Sharma and Co. will be up against the much-improved Pakistan side, which holds the number 1 spot in the ICC ODI rankings. Babar Azam’s team started off its Asia Cup campaign with a massive victory over Nepal by 238 runs. Consistent Babar showed his class as he managed to rack up 151 runs making him the Player of the Match.
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Rohit and his side will look to start their Asia Cup campaign with a win after crashing out of the previous edition in the Super 4 stage following their defeats against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the Super 4 stage of the tournament. However, this year’s Asia Cup is being played in the 50-over format which will be a perfect tune-up for the teams ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023 which will held in India this October-November.
With the intense rivalry between India and Pakistan, let us take a look at what happened in the last 5 ODIs between the two teams.
5. India vs Pakistan: League Stage – ODI World Cup – Old Trafford, 2019
The match-up between the two arch-rivals was amongst the highly anticipated battles and it did not disappoint. Rohit Sharma was the star of the show as he stamped his authority with a 140-run knock. He received able support from KL Rahul, who scored 57 runs, and Virat Kohli – 77 runs off 66 deliveries, to bring India’s total to 336 runs. However, the Indian bowling attack faced a massive challenge as their fast-bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was forced off the field due to a hamstring injury and was not able to complete his overs. The duo of Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam put up resistance against the Indian bowling attack but Kuldeep Yadav managed to dismiss both batters. Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya also managed to pick two wickets each as the match was interrupted by rain and India secured the victory by 89 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method (DLS).
READ MORE: IND vs PAK: ‘Babar Azam Doesn’t Need to Give Any Message’ – Gautam Gambhir – News18
4. India vs Pakistan: Super 4s – Asia Cup – Dubai, 2018
At that point in time, Rohit acted as the stand-in skipper for the side as Kohli was rested for the tournament. After winning the toss, Pakistan skipper, Sarfaraz Ahmed chose to bat first which was probably not the right decision at the time considering it was a Day-Night game. India managed to put in a dominant display as the bowling unit restricted the side to just 237 runs in the 50 overs. Jasprit Bumrah was the stand-out bowler for the Indian side with figures of 2/29 in his quota of 10 overs. The spin duo of Yuzuvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav also managed to pick two wickets a piece. The Pakistan batting unit could barely put up a fight as veteran Shoaib Malik was the only one who registered a half-century as he managed to hit 78 runs off 90 deliveries. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed had promoted himself to number four and managed to get 44 runs in 66 deliveries. The chase for India was a breeze as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan both managed to score tons and lead India to a massive victory.
3. India vs Pakistan: Group Stage – Asia Cup – Dubai, 2018
It was one of India’s most dominant displays against their arch-rivals Pakistan as the latter were dismissed for a mere 164 runs within 43 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kedar Jadhav were the pick of the bowlers with three wickets each. In reply, the Indian batting unit registered a comprehensive win after the chase was set up by the openers, Rohit and Shikhar who scored 52 and 46 runs respectively. Both Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik managed to take the side home sealing a dominant display.
2. India vs Pakistan: Final – Champions Trophy – The Oval, 2017
Arguably one of India’s most crushing defeats in the history books. The match in itself was shocking. A young Fakhar Zaman, who was only playing his fourth international game, came in a smacked the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The southpaw managed to score 116 runs whilst being supported by Azhar Ali (59 runs), Babar Azam (46 runs) and Mohammad Hafeez (57 runs). The Indian batting barely provided any resistance to defeat the Pakistan bowlers. Mohammad Amir came in and cleaned up the trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan within the first 9 overs. The other batters followed suit but Hardik Pandya managed to put in some resistance with 76 runs but a costly mix-up with Jadeja sealed the game, making it an iconic victory for the Pakistan side.
1. India vs Pakistan: Group Stage – Champions Trophy – Birmingham, 2017
India looked to defend their Champions Trophy title and they started off with a bang. All five batters who were on the field managed to make a sizeable contribution. Openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan managed to rack up 91 and 68 runs respectively. Kohli scored 81 off 68 and veteran Yuvraj Singh also scored a quickfire 53 off 32. Hardik Pandya gave the finishing touch as he scored 20 off just six deliveries. Pakistan seemed to start off well but partnerships just did not happen wickets fell regularly. Opening batter, Azhar Ali managed to score a half-century but that is where the resistance from Pakistan ends. They just crumbled against the likes of Umesh Yadav who picked up three wickets along with Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya who took two a piece. Bhuvneshwar also picked up a single wicket as Pakistan were all out for 164 runs off 34 overs.