After a successful IPL season, cricket fans from all over the world are excited about the next big international cricket tournament. While the T20 Cricket World Cup is just a few months away, fans are waiting for the Asia Cup which is scheduled to be held from 27th August to 11th September in Dubai, UAE. The men in blue have always received support from their fans in each of their matches but there is one specific match where the fans go crazy and can go to any extent to extend their support.
Known as the ultimate battle in cricket history India Vs Pakistan has always been an exciting battle to witness. It is said that this match is not merely a cricket match among the fans, but it is an emotion and hence each Indian show their emotional side when the match is being played as this match is once in a blue moon opportunity to witness. For the last couple of years, India and Pakistan have been competing with each other only in international tournaments. However, this was not the case a few years back.
First test series between India and Pakistan
The first ever test series between India and Pakistan was played in October 1952 at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi. It also marked the debut of Pakistan in the longest format of the game. The 5-match test series was won by India by the margin of 2-1 while 2 matches resulted in a draw. The Pakistan team was led by Abdul Kardar while the Indian team was captained by Lala Amarnath.
First ODI Series between India and Pakistan
The first ODI series between India and Pakistan was played in Pakistan in 1978. The 3-match series was won by Pakistan by a margin of 2-1. After that both the teams played 63 matches out of which 36 were won by Pakistan, 27 were won by India and 2 resulted in a tie or no result. The last ODI series between the rivals was played in 2012-13.
Why did India and Pakistan stop playing each other?
It all started because of the Partition of British India in 1947. It created the independent Indian and Pakistani states which resulted in a bloody conflict between the two nations and also caused the death of 10 million people. Thus the rivalry between the nations was not only restricted to the borders but also began in the sport which was the most popular in both the nations.
As mentioned above, the 2 teams played first in 1952, when Pakistan toured India for test cricket. However, since then several planned tours by both countries have been canceled or aborted due to political factors. Some of the examples are the 1999 Kargil War and the two major wars in 1965 and 1971. No cricket was played between the 2 sides during these years.
Apart from this, India and Pakistan have also played each other at neutral venues such as Sharjah in UAE and the Canadian city of Toronto to avoid large crowds.
In 2009, Sri Lanka’s national cricket team was attacked in Lahore which led to the suspension of international tours of Pakistan and it was also prohibited from co-hosting the 2011 Cricket World Cup. In the same year, India canceled its Pakistan tour due to the terrorists' attacks on Mumbai in 2008 and refused to play any form of series with Pakistan since then.
After such events, both the teams are only competing in multinational competitions such as Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup. The 2011 Cricket World Cup semifinal between both teams will always be special and memorable for the fans of both teams. It was also the first time that these two teams were facing each other in the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup.
In the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the teams played their 200th International match against each other. Pakistan made a record by winning the fixture by 10 wickets, their first ever successful encounter against India after making over 13 attempts in either ODI World Cup or T20 World Cup.
India vs Pakistan head-to-head in cricket
India vs Pakistan in World Cups
It is safe to say that each match played between the two teams is a treat to watch and as the years pass by they are just going to get more interesting.
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