T20 World Cup 2022: Top 3 India vs Pakistan T20I Matches

India vs Pakistan (Source: Twitter)

23rd of October is here and the mother of all rivalries is all set to entertain the cricketing world. India will be taking on Pakistan at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

The teams are all set to go against each other and everyone is once again expecting a blockbuster encounter between the arch-rivals. Before the two teams take on each other on Sunday, let us look at some of the memorable matches they have played against each other in the shortest format of the game. 

3. September 14 2007, Durban

India winning vs Pakistan in a bowl out in 2007 (Source: Twitter)

India and Pakistan were taking on each other at Durban in a group stage match. It was a must win encounter for India to stay alive in the tournament. 

India batted first in the match and set a target of 142 runs for Pakistan. Robin Uthappa top scored for India with 50 runs off 39 deliveries. The India skipper, MS Dhoni also played a decent hand scoring 33 runs off 31 balls. 

During the chase, Pakistan's innings was held together by Misbah-ul-Haq (53 off 35). Misbah batted till the end of the innings and they needed 12 runs off the last over to seal the deal with one wicket in hand. 

11 runs were scored of the first 4 balls and only a single was needed for Pakistan to win the match. But India was able to pick the last wicket and the match ended in a tie. 

The match was next decided by a bowl out, where the Indian bowlers hit the stumps three times, but the Pakistanis missed all three. This resulted in India winning the match by a bowl out.

2. October 24 2021, Dubai

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan ensured a 10 wicket for Pakistan in 2021 (Source: Twitter)

In the 16th match of the T20 World Cup 2021, India and Pakistan took the field against each other at Dubai. India was once batting first in the match. 

India was able to put up a total of 151 runs in their 20 overs, courtesy of Virat Kohli (57 off 49) and Rishabh Pant (39 off 30). During the first innings the wicket looked slow and batting appeared difficult. The general feeling after the first innings was that India had a decent total on the board. 

But the two openers of Pakistan, Babar Azam (68 off 52) and Mohammad Rizwan (79 off 55) looked in supreme touch on the day. The Indian bowlers failed to pick up a single wicket as Pakistan won the match in the 18th over of the second innings. 

1.September 24 2007, Johannesburg

India winning the 2007 T20 World Cup (Source: Twitter)

It was a dream clash for every cricket fan, as India and Pakistan were taking on each other in the finals of the inaugural T20 World Cup at Johannesburg. 

India, while batting first in the match put up a total of 157 runs for the loss of 5 wicket in 20 overs. Gautam Gambhir (75 off 54) was the top scorer for the team while Rohit Sharma's cameo of 30 off 16 balls helped India reach the total. 

Much like the first match of this tournament, the chase of Pakistan once again depended completely on Misbah-ul-Haq (43 off 38). After a dynamic start by Imran Nazir (33 off 14), Pakistan soon loss quick wickets and were in a spot of bother. 

But Misbah took the game to the last over, where they needed 13 runs to win the match. The new Indian skipper, MS Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder Sharma for the last over. 

The first two legal deliveries cost India 7 runs, and 6 runs were required to win off the last 4 balls. At this stage, Misbah tried to scoop a good length delivery over the short fine leg fielder. But he failed to time it to perfection and ended up handing an easy catch to the hands of S Sreesanth. 

As Sreesanth took the catch India emerged as the winners of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup by 5 runs. It still remains the most memorable T20I encounter between the two teams.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma's report card ahead of the T20 World Cup