India-Pakistan Rivalry In Numbers: Is Suryakumar Yadav Right In His Assessment?

Debashis Sarangi

SKY's bold statement on Indo-Pak rivalry grabbed limelight [Source: AFP]SKY's bold statement on Indo-Pak rivalry grabbed limelight [Source: AFP]

India had a phenomenal outing in their recent Asia Cup encounter against Pakistan, as they swatted aside their rivals by six wickets. Although Pakistan posted a respectable 171-run total on the board, India chased the target successfully, riding on Abhishek Sharma's blistering fifty and a valuable cameo from Tilak Varma. 

Apart from the on-field contest and heated exchanges, what grabbed the limelight was a comment from Suryakumar Yadav in the post-match press conference, as the Indian captain undermined the rivalry between the South Asian neighbours. 

"According to me, if two teams are playing 15-20 matches and the scoreline is 7-7, or 8-7, then you can call it good cricket, you call it rivalry. If it’s 13-0, 10-1, I am not sure what the stat is. But this is not a rivalry anymore. I feel we played better cricket than them between 7-15, and we bowled better also,” Surya said. 

His statement grabbed the limelight, as the India-Pakistan encounter has historically been considered the mother of all battles. Was Suryakumar factually correct? Let's analyse and find out. 

India vs Pakistan Head-to-head record in cricket

Criterion
Data
Matches played210
India won
79
Pakistan won88
Drawn matches38
No result
5

Observation and inference

As evidenced by the above stats, Pakistan have an upper hand over India in terms of the head-to-head records across all three formats. The Indian side has won 79 matches, while Pakistan have emerged victorious on 88 occasions in Tests, ODIs and T20Is combined. 

India vs Pakistan rivalry breakdown

Criterion
Till 1999
From 2000-2009
Since 1st Jan 2010
Matches1255431
India won322423
Pakistan won56
257
NR401
Drawn3350
  • As shown in the above table, Pakistan dominated India on the cricket field until the 90s and 2000s. The Men in Green comprehensively outplayed their Indian counterparts in the past, securing 56 wins in 125 games until 31st December 1999. 
  • However, the Indian side gave Pakistan a run for their money in the 2000s, as indicated by an almost 50-50 head-to-head record. However, since the start of 2010, India have outclassed Pakistan in all departments, winning 23 of 31 international matches. As Suryakumar Yadav's statement is based on the recent results, it makes sense to consider the head-to-head record of these two teams since 2010. 

The game of nerves: Who has the edge on big occasions in recent times?

Criterion
Data
Matches played26
India won
21
Pakistan won4
No result
1

(IND vs PAK head to head in major tournaments since 1st January 2000)

India haven't played a Test match against Pakistan since 2007. So, the data presented in the above table only considers white-ball matches in showpiece events- T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, ODI Asia Cup and T20 Asia Cup. 

These numbers suggest that India have a clear edge over Pakistan at big stages, winning 21 out of 26 matches. Although the 2017 Champions Trophy final and the 2021 T20 World Cup group-stage match remain the two biggest achievements by Pakistan in this time frame, the Men in Green have had little to celebrate apart from these two victories against their arch-rivals. 

Conclusion: Practicality trumps over sentiment

The India versus Pakistan game continues to generate serious hype, but that is mostly due to the kind of geopolitical relations these two countries have shared over the years. Pakistan still have the edge over India, but the margin is steadily getting narrowed down by the Men in Blue, who have grown leaps and bounds as a team in the last one and a half decades. So, Suryakumar Yadav's statement that the India vs Pakistan matches have lost their essence from the rivalry point of view is factually correct.