Cricket is the most popular sport of the subcontinent. The competition between India and pakistan is the most important rivalry of South asian subcontinent as well. Every match between these two cricketing giants bears the air of tension amongst all the cricket fans.
India vs Pakistan almost always happen during World cups and continental cups as they have not played a friendly series against each other in a while. One of the most awe-inspiring displays of cricket happened in Dubai on October 24, 2021. India was defeated against Pakistan by 10 wickets.
A brief history of India-Pakistan Rivalry in cricket
India vs. Pakistan is the biggest event of cricket. Nothing comes closer. India played its first match against Pakistan, on October 16, 1952. The two sides have played against each other 204 times. The breakdown ODIs, T20s and tests are as follows.
| Format of the match | Matches played | India | Pakistan | Draw |
| ODI | 134 | 56 | 73 | 5 |
| T20 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| Test | 59 | 9 | 12 | 38 |
As we can clearly see, Pakistan has won more matches against India in ODIs and tests, whereas, `Indians have won more T20s. However, this does not represent the reality of World Cup matches. Pakistan could never win a world cup cricket match against India.
There are 7 world cup ODI matches, all of which have been won by India. India has also won 5 of the 7 T20 matches. One T20 match has been and another was won by Pakistan. This is the match that we are talking about.
India’s good enough batting
The match was being played at Dubai. UAE has become the second home-ground of Pakistan, after their ban from hosting international cricket. Pakistani players have always been confident when playing in Dubai or Sharjah. However, Indians were very confident indeed. After all, they had never lost a match against Pakistan up until then. The Indians had experience on their side.
Dubai’s pitch has always followed the ones who bowl first. Pakistan won the toss and decided to field first. It is important to note that India has the highest score of Dubai, which is 212/2 against Afghanistan.
The match began. Wickets started to come a little bit early for Pakistan. Rohit Sharma got out in the first over. The next wicket of KL Rahul fell within the third over. Both of the wickets were taken by Shaheen Afridi. Within 31 runs, India lost 3 wickets. Virat Kohli played an important innings of 57(49) and Rishabh Pant scored 39(30). These two innings paved the way for `India to achieve 151-7.
Pakistani bowlers played a crucial role to stop India early. Shaheen Afridi took 3 wickets and Hasan Ali took 2 wickets. All of the bowlers tried their best to stop the runs within 160 so that the batsmen can find it a bit easier.
151 runs is a respectable total for defending. If a team has good bowlers and a bit of luck, they can defend it. India had similar plans. They had Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, and Jaspreet Bumrah to defend the score.
Pakistani openers triumph
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam had a partnership of 152 runs! yes , they finished the match on their own. After all the years, the waiting was worth it for the Pakistani fans. They also did it within just 17.5 overs.
Babar Azam scored 68 runs in just 52 balls. Mohammad Rizwan scored 79 runs in 55 balls. Pakistan’s run rate (RR) was 8.52! This match was decisive, to say the least. Mohammad Shami was the most expensive bowler, with an economy of 11.21.
The entire match was a hopeless show for the Indian fans. Virat Kohli did his very best till the end to take at least a wicket. They came close a few times, but it was futile. It was Pakistan’s day through and through. We might never again see such a display of Pakistani dominance in the near future.
The biggest twist was, it was Shaheen Shah Afridi and not Mohammad Rizwan who won the man of the match. You can only guess how effective he was as a bowler that day. The Indian batting line up could have easily scored 170-180 runs if he were not present.
Post-match effect
Twitter was on fire that day. Every Indian celebrity, fans, reporters, and even politicians talked about the match. It was a big reality check for India. The Indian Players were sad and expressed their pain.
Pakistanis were very ecstatic on Twitter as well. Former Pakistani PM and cricketer Imran Khan congratulated pakistan on their win. Shoaib Akhter and Ramiz Raza greeted the team as well.
However, both Pakistani and Indian fans greeted each other and said good things. It was a breath of fresh air to see that the rivalry only exists in the sport, and in reality, both countries citizens are cordial.
India has never lost in one-day cricket till now
Pakistani fans may feel a little relaxed but it is good to remember that India is yet to lose an ODI match against Pakistan. on October, 2023 the two teams will meet again. It’s going to be their 8th ODI match. India’s form is on top right now and they are confident enough to win this match with ease.
India-Pakistan will exist as long as cricket exists. Nevertheless, it is always better to remember that there is also much love between the two teams. They always greet and smile at each other after finishing every match. The toxic fans sometimes need to learn from that and follow their favorite players.
