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Dhurandhar outrage: 6 cricket matches that deserved a ban because India bullied Pakistan

Akshita Patel

6 times India dominated Pakistan on cricket field [Source: @With3088Cric/X.com]6 times India dominated Pakistan on cricket field [Source: @With3088Cric/X.com]

‘Dhurandhar’, a Bollywood spy-thriller film featuring Ranveer Singh and directed by Aditya Dhar, has taken India by storm. The movie is a box office hit, as fans are loving the action and gripping storyline.

However, Dhurandhar has been banned in six Gulf nations for allegedly having an ‘anti-Pakistan’ theme. The movie’s plot revolves around an Indian secret agent infiltrating Pakistan to end terrorism.

Unexpectedly, though, the Gulf countries have an objection. But if the film is anti-Pakistan propaganda, half of India’s cricket matches against Pakistan should’ve been banned too, because the domination was so one-sided, it almost felt illegal.

Here are six matches where Pakistan got flattened so badly that the match officials should’ve considered pulling the plug for humanitarian reasons.

1. 2008 - Kitply Cup

In the second match of the Kitply Cup, India took Pakistan head-on in Mirpur. But the contest quickly turned one-sided after Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir stitched a 155-run opening partnership. 

With a gritty half-century by Yuvraj Singh, India went on to finish at 330/8. Pakistan, meanwhile, has already given up because it lacked the guts to even approach the chase positively. Praveen Kumar rammed through their lineup with 4 wickets in 9 overs. 

Piyush Chawal’s spin web left no room for a comeback as Pakistan got bowled out on 190, enduring a 140-run defeat.

2. 2023 - Asia Cup

A storm named Virat Kohli hit Colombo in the 2023 Asia Cup and swept away Pakistan like dust set on crooked furniture. Batting first, India put up 356 runs, with Kohli (122) and KL Rahul (111) putting together a 233-run partnership. 

Shaheen Afridi, the so-called new-ball nightmare, conceded 79 runs. In reply, Kuldeep Yadav destroyed an underconfident Pakistan with a five-wicket-haul. Babar Azam and Rizwan could only muster 10 and 2 runs, respectively. 

Such was the dominance of India that Pakistan got bundled on just 128 runs and suffered a 228-run humiliating defeat. 

3. 2023 - ICC Men’s ODI World Cup

In 2023, Pakistan were humiliated in India's home turf. Being put to bat first, Babar Azam (50) and Rizwan (49) set the tone only for the middle-order to sabotage the momentum. Kuldeep and Jasprit Bumrah chipped quick wickets, triggering a collapse. 

From 155/3, Pakistan finished with 191/10. In the chase, India hardly broke a sweat. Rohit Sharma (86) and Shreyas Iyer (53) wrapped up the chase in 30.3 overs to clinch a dominating 7-wicket win. 

This humiliation and embarrassment were too much to endure, as Babar Azam had to quit the captaincy post after an early tournament exit.

4. 2019 - ICC Men’s ODI World Cup

Rohit Sharma absolutely owned Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup game held in Manchester. He scored 140 off 113 balls to guide India to a 336-run total. 

Rohit made Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan his bunnies and embarrassed Pakistan’s bowling lineup on a global stage. The men in green’s only hope of a rain delay also didn’t work. 

Their humiliation was guaranteed. Fakhar, Babar and Imad Wasim tried to fight, but Pakistan forgot that cricket is a team game. Lack of collective performance led to an 89-run loss, further extending the neighbours’ winless record against India in ICC World Cups.

5. 2005 - Fifth ODI

Before 2008, India used to play Pakistan regularly for bilateral series. In the final ODI of the 5-game series held in Kochi, Virender Sehwag (108) and Rahul Dravid (104) showed the visitors their place with a 101-run partnership. 

Despite Arshad Khan’s four-wicket-haul, India managed to get 281 runs. For most teams, it would be a chaseable total. But for Pakistan, the target turned into a mission impossible. After Lakshmipathy Balaji got early breakthroughs, Sachin Tendulkar, a part-time spinner, hunted Pakistan, getting a five-wicket-haul and bowling out Pakistan for just 194 runs. 

The 87-run defeat turned into a total humiliation as Tendulkar now owned Pakistan not with the bat but with the ball in a totally unexpected climax.

1985 - World Championship of Cricket final 

During the early days too, Pakistan were never a match for India. In the 1985 World Championship of Cricket final held in Melbourne, Kapil Dev and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan’s 3-wicket-hauls restricted Pakistan to just a modest total of 176. 

Ravi Shastri and Kris Srikkanth made the chase look easy as they stitched a 103-run partnership. India wrapped up the game to seal an 8-wicket victory with 17 balls to spare. 

Imran Khan and Tahir Naqqash were the only ones to get a wicket as Pakistan appeared a lacklustre opponent who planted zero thorns in India’s World Championship title victory.