Shaheen to Kohli, five memorable India vs Pakistan T20I showdowns

Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam (Pic: AFP)

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will clash at the T20 World Cup 2024 in New York on Sunday for the 13th time in cricket's shortest format.

The two nuclear-armed nations only face each other in international tournaments due to political tensions and last met in a 2022 T20 World Cup encounter in Melbourne, when India won. The tally in their T20 encounters so far stands in India's favour with nine wins to three -- but the honours are even in their last four matches.

Ahead of the mega T20 World Cup 2024 showdown on Sunday, Mid-Day looks back at five memorable India-Pakistan T20 matches:

Wily Dhoni

India and Pakistan's first T20 encounter at Durban in 2007 ended in a dramatic tie before being decided in a bowl-out -- cricket's equivalent of football's penalty shoot-out. Pakistan elected to field in the group match in the inaugural T20 World Cup and restricted India to 141-9. With the scores level at the end of Pakistan's reply India skipper MS Dhoni then outfoxed the opposition by choosing non-specialists to try to hit the wicket, rather than regular bowlers used to tempting batsmen to offer catches. Part-time bowlers Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa and premier spinner Harbhajan Singh all hit the stumps, while Pakistan's top-line pacemen Yasir Arafat and Umar Gul, and spinner Shahid Afridi all missed.

It is the only time a World Cup match has been decided by a bowl-out, with the tiebreaker now replaced by a super over. - Misbah misfires - After meeting in the group stage of that inaugural World Cup in 2007, the two rivals went on to face each other again 10 days later in the final in Johannesburg, the only time they have contested a final. Set 158 for victory, Pakistan lost wickets regularly but Misbah-ul-Haq kept the target in sight with his gritty batting. Pakistan reached the final over needing 13 against an unlikely Indian bowling option in Joginder Sharma. Misbah hit a six after a wide and a dot ball, to need six from four balls, only to opt for a scoop shot that got more height than distance. It landed in the hands of S. Sreesanth at short fine-leg to trigger wild Indian celebrations as they won the World Cup by five runs.

Shaheen strikes

India started as favourites in a 2021 T20 World Cup group match in Dubai but Pakistan pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi soon upset the predictions. Tall left-arm quick Shaheen sent back opener Rohit Sharma for a first-ball duck as he rattled the Indian top-order, finishing with 3-31. Virat Kohli attempted to rebuild with 57 but fell to Shaheen in the penultimate over. Mohammad Rizwan made 79 and skipper Babar Azam 68 as Pakistan took the India bowling attack apart to cruise to a 10-wicket win -- their first ever World Cup victory against their fiercest rivals.

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All-round Nawaz

Pakistan returned to Dubai to face India in the 2022 Asia Cup Super Four clash after they were beaten by the neighbours in the group stage. India rode on Kohli's 60 to reach 181-7 but the total could have been more had it not been from some disciplined bowling by Pakistan spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan. Left-hander Nawaz returned figures of 1-25 before he hammered a 20-ball 42 to steer Pakistan to a five-wicket victory with one ball to spare.

'King Kohli' at MCG

Most recently in a T20, the two rivals met in an electric atmosphere at a packed 90,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground for a 2022 T20 World Cup group match. Pakistan posted 159-8 and had India in trouble at 31-4 before Virat Kohli played a knock for the ages with an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls, putting on a key stand of 113 with Hardik Pandya. India needed 31 off the final 12 balls but Kohli hit two sixes off pace bowler Haris Rauf in the 19th over and India won by four wickets on the final ball. fk/slb/bsp

(With agency inputs)