T20 World Cup: India-Pakistan encounters; a blast from the past

An India-Pakistan cricket encounter has always had that aura and ‘magic’ about it. There have been plenty over the years, right from the eras of Sunil Gavaskar, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Younis Khan, to name a few. As we brace for another explosive encounter between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in Melbourne today, let’s walk down memory lane to all those times when these two exciting teams crossed paths at T20 World Cups.

The two teams have squared off six times at the showpiece, beginning with the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007.

Here’s a blast from the past of these six epics.

Durban 2007

This was the inaugural edition of the tournament; the two teams met in Durban. And fittingly enough, it served up a contest that was one for the ages. The match went down the wire. After Robin Uthappa served up a half-century, Indian skipper MS Dhoni and all-rounder Irfan Pathan took them to 141-9. MSD’s opposite number Misbah-ul-Haq’s riposte — a half-century — kept Pakistan in the hunt but the Indian bowling attack kept their wits about them to ensure the contest was not over just yet. The game ended in a thrilling stalemate — a tie — with the winner decided by a ‘bowl out.’ India fared better than Pakistan by hitting the stumps three-nil in their favour.

Johannesburg 2007

It was a double delight for fans with the teams going up against each other not once but twice, this time in the final in Johannesburg. And this too went down the wire. Opener Gautam Gambhir smacked a breathtaking 75 as India went on to put the marker at 158. Pakistan’s reply was equalling robust with Imran Nazir leading the charge by racing to 33 from 14 balls. But the Indian bowlers recovered from the onslaught to keep Pakistan in check. Misbah-ul-Haq refused to give up though and took matters into the final over. But cometh the hour, cometh the man as Sreesanth kept his nerve to gobble Misbah’s miscued scoop at short fine-leg off pacer Joginder Sharma. As Misbah looked dejected, India were crowned the inaugural champions of the T20 World Cup.

Colombo 2012

The teams met in the group stage of the tournament in the breathtakingly beautiful and picture-postcard Sri Lanka, but this was a watered-down affair with India emerging triumphant on a canter — winning by eight wickets with about 18 deliveries to spare. Lakshmipathy Balaji had taken 3-22.

Dhaka 2014

The two teams faced each other in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, and this one too followed a similar script as the one in Colombo. Pakistan could only muster a below par 130-7 as Amit Mishra spun a web. India waltzed home comfortably, winning by seven wickets and with nine balls to spare.

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