India have defeated Pakistan in six out of seven T20 Internationals but Pakistan are being looked at as hot favourites ahead of their ICC World Twenty20 clash at the Eden Gardens tomorrow.
dia and Pakistan will face off against each other at the Eden Gardens tomorrow in a World Twenty20 match. Both teams last met in the Asia Cup, which India won. Political differences between the two countries has affected cricketing ties. Consequently, a scheduled bilateral series in December had to be put on hold.
Moreover, Pakistan after much reluctance agreed to participate in the ongoing World Twenty20 being held in India. India have played Pakistan in seven T20 Internationals and won six of them. Their only defeat, came on home soil.
Here's a look at the T20 contests between the sub-continental giants over the last decade.
ICC World Twenty20 in Durban, 2007
The result was decided after a bowl-out and the match is best remembered for that thrilling finish. India after being put in to bat, got off to a shaky start but Robin Uthappa scored a fifty and useful contributions from MS Dhoni (33) and Irfan Pathan (20) helped the team post a par-score of 141. Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals in their chase until Misbah-ul-Haq chipped in with a gritty half-century.
India aced Pakistan in the bowl-out and were right on the money from the start by hitting the stumps in the first three attempts. On the other hand, Pakistan were not able to hit the stumps even once!
ICC World Twenty20 final in Johannesburg, 2007
Weeks after that humdinger, India and Pakistan met each other again in the final of the inaugural World T20. The Indian Premier League was still a few months away and it was this match that captured the imagination of the entire world.
India won the toss and opted to bat at the Wanderers in front of packed stands. Gautam Gambhir and debutant Yusuf Pathan set the base with a good start. Pathan fell for 15 but Gambhir continued and went on to score 75. Rohit Sharma, batting down the order, contributed with a handy 30 to help India put up 157 on the board. Umar Gul was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, claiming three wickets.
Pakistan coming out for the chase didn't start well and were reeling at 76 for 5 in 11.3 overs. Again it was Misbah, who came to the rescue and hung in there to take Pakistan close to the finish-line along with Umar Gul. The match turned in Pakistan's favour when Misbah thumped Harbhajan for three sixes and then Gul blasted a four-ball 12. Pakistan needed 13 off the last over. Dhoni made a gamble by throwing the ball to the inexperienced Joginder Sharma. The bowler started with a wide and the next ball was lofted over long-off for a six. Pakistan were on the brink of glory but Misbah erred in shot selection and played the scoop that landed straight in the hands of S Sreesanth, standing at short fine leg.
India won the final match by 5 runs to lift the trophy!
ICC World Twenty20 in Colombo, 2012
India had an easy outing against the arch-rival in this World Twenty20 league match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Pakistan opting to bat struggled against the Indian bowling attack with Laxmipathy Balaji claiming three wickets. R Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh pocketed two wickets each. For Pakistan, Shoaib Malik top-scored with 28 runs as India restricted Pakistan to a modest 128.
Virat Kohli scored a 61-ball 78 to lead India to an emphatic eight-wicket win with 18 balls to spare.
1st T20I in Bangalore, 2012
Pakistan, on a short tour of India, played two T20Is that followed the three one-dayers. Put in to bat, India got off to a great start with Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane putting up a 77-run opening stand. And then came the dramatic collapse. India were bundled out for 133 with rest of the batsmen squandering the start provided by Gambhir and Rahane. Gul finished with impressive figures of 3/21.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, making his debut, struck early by removing the openers. It was the perfect start for India. But senior batsmen Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik slammed fifties to see their team home in 19.4 overs.
Pakistan won the match comfortably by five wickets.
2nd T20I in Ahmedabad, 2012
Pakistan had the momentum coming into the second T20I after winning the first of the two-match series. India put in to bat, got off to a decent start and then riding on Yuvraj Singh's 72 and Dhoni's 33, the hosts scored a commanding 192.
Pakistan started off the chase with some intent with their openers - Nashir Jamshed (41) and Ahmed Shehzad (31) blazing away to a 74-run partnership. Hafeez kept the visitors in the hunt by scoring a brilliant fifty but the chase fell apart once he fell. Pakistan at the end could manage to reach 181 and lost the match by 11 runs. The two-match T20I series ended in 1-1 draw.
ICC World Twenty20 in Mirpur, 2014
In another marquee clash of World Twenty20, India drubbed Pakistan convincingly by 7 wickets in Mirpur. Opting to bat, India's bowlers did well to restrict Pakistan to 130 in 20 overs. Umar Akmal (33) top-scored for Pakistan and for India, Amit Mishra scalped two wickets.
Shikhar Dhawan (30) and Rohit Sharma (24) started off well in the modest chase by giving India a solid start before Kohli (36) and Suresh Raina (35) finished off clinically.
Asia Cup T20 in Dhaka, 2016
India continued their domination oof Pakistan in the T20 format as they defeated the arch-rivals by five wickets. Asked to bat on a green top, Pakistan got off to a disastrous start and folded up for a modest 83. Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while Ravindra Jadeja claimed two wickets. Coming out for the chase under lights, India were jolted by Mohammad Amir's pace and accuracy.
Amir provided Pakistan with an inspired start by removing openers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma in the first over. Then it was Kohli who controlled the chase with a classy 49. After Kohli's dismissal, Yuvraj and Dhoni saw India through to a tense win.
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