With the most feverishly anticipated India Vs Pakistan not so far from us now, We at Wirally dug through moments in cricketing history which defined and shaped the rivalry between these two almost equally talented teams. The throwback will sure make you leave everything and scramble for the nearest television sets, as the whole world awaits the clash of the tournament on 19th of March, ie.., on Saturday. The best weekend ever, we say..!!
Dravid & Yuvraj Save The Day ( World Cup 2003 ) :
At the Centurion Park, Sachin Tendulkar played a brilliant 98 out of 75 balls and thanks to him the Required Run Rate rescinded to manageable.. But India still needed 100 more runs to win. The country then pinned their hopes on the dynamic duo of Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh to pull of the best games of their career. And The Wall and his protege, didn’t disappoint. Together they made a 99 run partnership without much hiccups. Had they not stood their grounds, Indian team’s shaky lower order would have been a spectacle to witness, not to mention an embarrassing loss too.
Saeed Anwar & Shoaib Akhtar Come Good ( Asia Test Championship 1999 ) :
The Asian Test Championship saw the two nations face each other in the midst of 465,000 spectators chanting for their victories. The game saw some extraordinary performances on the field from either side, such as Saeed Anwar’s 188, Shoaib Akhtar’s 4/71 and 4/47 etc. However the match is remembered for something infamous. During the second innings, when as The Little Master Sachin Tendulkar got declared run-out, the crowd at Eden Gardens vented their anger and started littering the ground. Chaos and stampede ensued as the police had to clear-off the stands immediately. Fortunately the match continued and Pakistan eventually won the test by 46 runs.
Javed Miandad’s Does Some DeadPool Stuff (1992) :
One of the most memorable moments in an Indo-Pak clash arose during the 1992 World Cup when Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad jumped high up in the air, mocking the Indian Wicket Keeper Kiran More. It was a bemusing moment to behold for fans and photographers alike. Unable to tolerate incessant appeals by the Indian Wicketkeeper – Kiran More, Miandad decided to give him a piece of his mind. He stopped the bowler midway, turned to More and had a heated conversations. A few moments later, after playing a ball, Miandad started jumping up and down comically mimicking More’s gestures. Experts laughed it off and we were left with a hilarious moment to cherish.
Saleem Malik Rocks At Eden Gardens (1987) :
Following Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s amazing century, India managed to create a formidable 238 for the opponents to chase. But then Srikkanth’s effort went bleak when Saleem Malik walked into bat. Though Team Pakistan faltered a bit initially, having scored only 161, and losing five wickets initially. But when Malik began dealing in boundaries, things started to look north for his team. Malik became a formidable nightmare for the Indian bowlers as he made 72 out of 36 balls with eleven fours and one six. After scoring major bulk of the remaining runs, Pakistan meet the required target with three balls to spare.
Shahid Afridi’s smashing 102 off 46 (2005) :
The 2005 6-Match ODI series started off with a strong juggernaut . Indian soon began to lead at 2-0. The Indian team looked pretty strong and daunting at that moment. But in Kanpur, team Pakistan made a fantastic comeback. India could make only 249 thanks to Naved-ul-Hassan’s brilliant bowling efforts. Pakistan started with Afridi who wasted no time in squashing Indian field strategy and smashing the second fastest century in ODI history (at that time). The Indian team heaved a breath of relief, well into the fifteenth over when Afridi got dismissed at 131 but by then Pakistan was already on a straight course to victory.
Kumble Creates History With A Perfect 10 (1999) :
On Feb 8th The Indian team faced Pakistan in an iconic Test match at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi. Pakistan got to a seemingly good start and looked on course to a considerable score, i.e. to win the second innings. India seizing the opportunity brought in the team’s premier leg spinner Anil Kumble who unleashed a torrent of merciless spin attacks. In one sensational bowling spell Kumble wrapped up the whole batting line-up single-handedly and needless to say, Indian went on to record a victory.
Javed Miandad’s Last Ball Six Seals The Match ( 1986 ) :
Asia Cup final was a defining moment in the career of Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad. Batting first, India had scored a decent 245. Miandad came early on and held steady while his partners fell, one after another, on the other side. And the final equation came to Pakistan needing four runs to win, with only one ball left and only one wicket remaining. Miandad took the strike and lofted the ball sending it soaring to the stands.
As Fate Wrote Something Else ( 1984 ) :
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium packed with a cricket crazy fanatics got their money’s worth as the match got laded with twist and turns all through. Locking horns in the field were the most exciting rivals – India & Pakistan. India could only manage to scamper to an embarrassing 125 runs. The result was easily anticipated to be an easy win for the Pakistan team. But cricket always has a reputation of being highly unanticipated. From a chance of having a straight win, the entire Pakistani team got wrapped up at an embarrassing 87.
The Incredible Bowl-out Of Inaugural World T20 (2007) :
The inaugural ICC T20 World Cup saw two face-offs between India and Pakistan. One in the final and the other, way before the finals, ergo in a group-stage clash. In Indo-Pak cricket history, that match went down as the first ever India vs. Pakistan T20 . And man did it have everything that every cricket lover ever wanted. In 20 overs, either of the team managed to score exactly the same runs pushing for a tie. In order to break the tie, a bowl-out session was announced. 5 bowlers were selected from each team who had to hit the stumps, to score a point. Indians knocked-off the stumps thrice while Pakistan did miserably, as they failed to hit the stumps even once. And thus India emerged victorious.
When India was crowned WT20 Champions (2007) :
The first T20 World Cup held in South Africa was an explosive nerve-wrecking experience for both cricketers and cricket fans. And as it happened, India and Pakistan had a destiny face-off in the final that would decide who was to become the first T20 World Cup champion. In one of the most thrilling matchs ever played, Pakistan needed 13 runs out of 6 balls to win the Cup. Misbah-ul-haq looked formidable to smash the required runs and bring his team to victory. It was at this critical moment that Indian captain MS Dhoni took a gamble by throwing the ball to the inexperienced Joginder Sharma to take over the final over. And in the most dramatic ending, Misbah-ul-haq tried to hurl the ball into the stands which ended up being caught by Sreesanth. India was then crowned as the first World T20 champions.
