Brace yourself for yet another mouth-watering clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. The Asia Cup begins this weekend and Sunday is going to be an extravagant experience for all cricket lovers as the two Asian heavyweights are set to lock horns in Dubai.
It’s the same venue where India lost to Babar Azam & Co last year by 10 wickets in what was their first defeat in a world cup game. But since then, a lot has changed in the Indian dressing room and to witness the impact of those alterations, all eyes will be on the summit clash.
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The history of India vs Pakistan is full of interesting and jaw-dropping performances. Over the years, these two teams have been making the game of cricket as interesting as ever. And before they lock horns one more time on Asian soil, let’s have a look at some of the memorable performances from Indo-Pak games at the Asia Cup.
Virat Kohli’s 183 guides India to a remarkable win in 2012
The 2012 Asia Cup was a forgettable tournament for India but it will always be remembered for two reasons – Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international century and Virat Kohli’s strokeful knock against Pakistan. The latter put one of his most impressive performances on display at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, smashing 183 in just 148 balls to effectively etch his name in Asia Cup history.
Kohli’s ravishing innings came into the picture after Gautam Gambhir was dismissed pretty early; in the first over itself. But another batter from Delhi, in Kohli, took the onus of anchoring the chase of 330 and took India home with 13 balls to spare.
India defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets and besides Kohli, Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma also struck half-centuries.
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Harbhajan Singh’s match-winning knock in 2010
India has produced many mind-blowing spinners, one of which is Harbhajan Singh. The way he used to bamboozle some of the finest batters in the business was a treat to watch. But in 2010 Asia Cup, the world witnessed his batting prowess against arch-rivals.
In the pursuit of 272, Harbhajan walked out to bat when India were reduced to 219/6. He then stitched a crucial 43-run partnership with Suresh Raina. But in the final over, the latter fell prey to Mohammad Amir. With six required off the last delivery, Harbhajan smashed a colossal maximum over midwicket to take India home with three wickets in hands.
The game is also remembered for the heated interaction between Harbhajan and Shoaib Akhtar which took place after the former’s six to the speedster in the 47th over.
Irfan Pathan’s heroics in 2004
Back in 2004, left-arm quick Irfan Pathan was just making his name in Indian cricket. His swing bowling was garnering attention and eventually, he landed up in the playing XI for the game against Pakistan in Colombo. While the senior bowlers in the line-up – Ashish Nehra and L Balaji – faced the wrath of the Pakistan batters, Pathan put up a decent show. The left-arm quick picked up 3 wickets for 52 as the opposition posted 300 for 9. Though India lost the game by 59 runs, the performance with the ball did give recognition to the budding speedster.
Shahid Afridi leads Pakistan’s comeback in 2014
2014 Asia Cup was the post-Tendulkar era. India were facing Pakistan at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. Pakistan were chasing 246 and went off to a good start after a 117-ball 75 by Mohammad Hafeez. But the middle-order slumped, and the momentum shifted to India’s favour. Once again, the game went to the final over when Pakistan needed 10 runs to win and lost Saeed Ajmal off the very first ball. But Shahid Afridi held the nerves and changed the course of the game with two gigantic shots. The ace all-rounder hit two sixes on the trot to Ashwin, walking away with a one-wicket win.
Shoaib Malik’s super knock in 2004
Malik burst into the scene back in 1999 and has been playing cricket for Pakistan for generations now. Back in 2004, the all-rounder stole the show against India with a rollicking 143-run knock off 127 deliveries, setting India a target of 300 runs. His innings was laced with 18 boundaries and a six. In reply, Tendulkar top-scored with a 103-ball 78 but his knock wasn’t enough to take India home. Malik’s ton didn’t go in vain as Pakistan defeated the Men in Blue by 59 runs.
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