[Watch] Magical moment from each of India's 7 previous ODI World Cup wins against Pakistan
India and Pakistan are set to add another chapter to their enthralling rivalry, which has captured the imagination of the cricketing world over the years, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14.
Both teams won their opening two games fairly convincingly, with India defeating Australia and Afghanistan while Pakistan overcame the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
While Pakistan still holds a 73-56 lead in overall ODIs, the Men in Blue have dominated their arch-rivals in the 50-over World Cups. India has won all seven of their previous clashes, with their first meeting in the showpiece event in 1992, and the latest at Manchester in 2019.
As part of the build-up to the two teams meeting for the eighth time in ODI World Cups, the ICC compiled a video clip of the best moments from each of India's seven previous victories against Pakistan.
It includes some of the most memorable and cherished instances like the Aamer Sohail-Venkatesh Prasad duel in 1996, Virat Kohli's century in 2015, and the magical Kuldeep Yadav delivery to Babar Azam in 2019, among others.
Here is the nostalgia-evoking video as we inch closer to verse 8 of the India-Pakistan World Cup rivalry:
Team India's domination also stems from their recent outings against Pakistan in ODIs, with the side winning their last four encounters and eight of their previous 10 meetings.
The two teams enter the contest as the top-ranked sides in the World in ODIs, with India being No.1 and Pakistan following closely behind.
A recap of the previous 7 India-Pakistan ODI World Cup meetings
Despite Pakistan being the more dominant force in the 1990s, Team India always found a way to upstage their arch-rivals in World Cups. The first meeting between the sides happened in Sydney in the 1992 edition, with a young Sachin Tendulkar taking center stage.
The Little Master scored a pivotal 54* off 62 deliveries batting in the middle order to propel India to 216/7 in their 49 overs. The total proved sufficient on an arduous batting track as the Men in Blue prevailed by 43 runs. However, the result had no bearing on the remainder of the tournament as Pakistan emerged triumphant to clinch their maiden World Cup title.
In 1996, the sides met with the stakes much higher in the quarter-final, with India posting a mammoth 287/8 in 50 overs in front of a packed house at Bengaluru. The match is remembered for the infamous Aamer Sohail-Venkatesh Prasad incident that cost Pakistan dearly.
Following a sumptuous off-side boundary, Sohail had an altercation with Prasad, resulting in a rush-of-blood moment that saw the Pakistan skipper getting castled on the next delivery. It led to a terminal collapse as Pakistan, from a position of 113/1, fell 39 runs short and bowed out of the World Cup.
The 1999 clash was perhaps the most inconsequential World Cup game between the sides, as India were out of contention for a semi-final spot. Yet, the side conjured enough motivation to defeat Pakistan again in the Super Sixes by 47 runs.
2003 perhaps witnessed the best India-Pakistan World Cup clash in front of a raucous Centurion Crowd on a Super Saturday. The Men in Green, led by a breathtaking century by Saeed Anwar, set India a daunting target of 274.
However, Sachin Tendulkar's mesmerizing 98 off 75 deliveries, followed by an unbeaten 99-run partnership between Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, propelled India to a famous six-wicket win.
The sides then met in the 2011 World Cup semi-final in India, with the Men in Blue proving their supremacy with a resounding 29-run win. They would then win the final against Sri Lanka to triumph for a second time in ODI World Cups.
2015 and 2019 saw one-sided affairs, with Team India stamping their authority with 76 and 89-run victories over their arch-rivals in Adelaide and Manchester.
Virat Kohli scored a sensational century in the former, while current skipper Rohit Sharma smashed a match-winning 140 in the 2019 meeting.