"India vs. Pakistan: A Rivalry Beyond Just Another Game"

 

Over the years, we have heard numerous times from Pakistani and Indian cricketers insisting that it's "just another game." The efforts to play down the importance of the tie to take off some pressure from the players are, while respectable, futile for the fans — and even the players themselves.

It's not "just another game." It's India vs. Pakistan. It's a contest of eternal rivals. A clash of the titans. One that evokes the familiar feeling of excitement with a splash of dread.

Pakistan will face their neighbor, India, in the one-day international (ODI) match for the Asia Cup group stages today (September 2) at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

The world's number one side will head into the tie with a more stable line-up contrary to the ODI matches played against India in the recent past.

Pakistan has lost four out of the last five games with the latest one coming in the World Cup game of 2019 where the Indian side secured their 89-run victory via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.

The match will be India's opening game of the Asian championship, as the two neighbors go head-to-head in what promises to be a "high-voltage" tie.

The two sides — who have only played each other in international tournaments since 2012 because of frigid bilateral relations — have recently met four times in Twenty20 internationals over the last two years with both sides winning twice.

Both sides have seen significant changes over the last four years; however, the Indian side boasts the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, the veterans who together have played more ODIs than the entire Pakistan squad combined.

As the nations brace themselves for the clash between the rivals, let us have a look at how the sides have fared against each other in the last five ODIs (India's won most of them), and whether we can hope things will go differently for Pakistan today.

 Recent Past

World Cup 2019

The 2019 World Cup clash between the neighbors on June 16, 2019, in Manchester was the most anticipated group match but turned out to be rather one-sided despite being victim to frequent rains.

Sharma — who opened the innings with KL Rahul — scored a magnificent century in the first innings, taking his side to the fifth-highest total in the tie's history. He was also given the player of the match award for his second century in the 2019 World Cup.

The Indian side went out to bat first after Pakistan won the toss, elected to field first, and posted 336-5 in their allotted 50 overs.

The Indian batters demolished the Pakistani pacers of whom Hassan Ali became the most expensive Pakistani bowler in a single World Cup match, conceding 84 runs for his nine overs.

The Pakistani batting did not get off to an ideal start after Imamul Haq was removed for a measly seven by the Indian pacer Vijay Shankar, who had replaced Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the fifth over after Kumar tweaked his hamstring and left the field.

The best-performing Pakistani batters were Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam, with Babar walking in at 13 runs and putting up 48 off 57 balls before being dismissed by an incredible delivery from Kuldeep Yadav in the 24th over.

Fakhar was dismissed later by Yadav as Hardik Pandya removed Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik on back-to-back deliveries.

The play then was interrupted by the rain for a third time, bringing the covers back on when Pakistan were 166-6.

As play resumed, the DLS method gave the side a 40-over game, and Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim had just 30 balls to score 136 runs. The two maintained a steady run rate, but the game ultimately ended not with a bang, but with a whimper.

The Indian team won by 89 runs via the DLS method.

Asia Cup 2018

Prior to the World Cup, the two sides met each other twice in the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup with the Indian side coming out on top in both the games.

The first match was played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DSC) on Sept 19, 2018, with the Pakistani side winning the toss and electing to bat first.

Pakistan only managed to post 162 with the highest score from the green team coming from Babar (47) while the player of the match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, took three wickets in his seven overs giving away just 15 runs.

The neighbors easily chased down the total in 29 overs for the loss of two wickets.

The pairing of Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put up a stand of 86 runs before Sharma was dismissed in the 13 over. His partner later got out four runs short of a half-century in the 16 over. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik then saw the game home with both of them finishing on the 31-run mark.

The highest from both teams in the game was scored by the now-captains with Babar scoring 47 runs and six 4s and Sharma getting 52 with six 4s and three 6s.

The second game for the Asia Cup was even more one-sided as the Indian openers Sharma and Dhawan both scored centuries to chase down a total of 238 in less than 40 overs.

The Super Four match was again played at the DSC on September 23 after Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.

Fakhar and Imam opened the innings for Pakistan, whereas Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah shared the new ball for India.

Pakistani batters were undone by Indian bowling who kept an extremely tight line and length throughout the innings, forcing Pakistan to finish their inning at 237 for the loss of seven wickets.

Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers, picking two wickets for just 29 runs in his 10 overs.

In the end, Pakistan finished with 237-7, with Shoaib Malik who was the top scorer for the Pakistani side with 78.

The Indian duo of Sharma and Dhawan put up a double-hundred partnership in response before Dhawan was dismissed through a runout in a mix-up.

Sharma stayed not out throughout the innings and scored 111 runs while Dhawan who was given the player of the match scored 114 runs.

India won the game by nine wickets with 63 balls remaining.

ICC Champions Trophy 2017

As we are trudging backward, we are bound to come across the shimmering memory of the single greatest day in Pakistan cricket history.

The day when we won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Again, I seem to be taking a lot of liberty and (willingly) forgetting the previous achievements of our national outfit. But, it was the greatest day in our cricketing history.