5 epic India-Pakistan encounters
A cricket match between India and Pakistan is a dream match for everyone involved; be it the broadcasters, the fans, the media or the players.Many players from both the nations have gone on record to say that the pressure of an India-Pakistan match surpasses everything else in comparison. When these two teams meet, the past record hardly matters and the players know that a loss against the arch-rival will not go down well with the supporters back home.Even the people who otherwise do not follow cricket will be ready dressed up in their lucky clothes right from the first ball of the match for an India-Pakistan encounter.It is difficult to put the passion of the people of two nations into words and one has to experience it to believe it.Given this history, each and every match between these two estranged neighbors is a do-or-die affair. Over the years, the two nations have played some really close and exciting matches.Here, we take a look at five epic India-Pakistan encounters in ODIs and T20I.Disclaimer: This list is not a comprehensive list of epic India-Pakistan matches and some great matches like the 2003 World Cup Super-Six match or the 2011 World Cup semifinal just missed out being part of this list. They were nevertheless matches which would be written with golden letters in the history of India-Pakistan cricket. A conscious attempt was made to have equal representation of Indian & Pakistani victories in this list.
#5 3rd Final of the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup 1997, Dhaka India won by 3 wickets
It was the 3rd of the best of three finals of the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup in Dhaka and Pakistan were put into bat by Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin. India made early inroads in the Pakistani batting line up with wickets of Shahid Afridi and Aamer Sohail. However, India’s nemesis Saeed Anwar and middle order batsman Ijaz Ahmed put together a record partnership of 230 runs for the third wicket.
Anwar went on to score 140 whereas Ijaz was dismissed for 117. Riding on these two centuries, Pakistan scored 314 for the loss of 5 wickets in 48 overs. (Two overs were reduced from both the innings due to bad light)
India needed a miracle as no team had previously scored 315 runs to win an ODI match. The Indian openers Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, in particular, started in blazing fashion. Tendulkar was dismissed after a brisk 41 off 26 balls. Ganguly went on to score a century and in the company of pinch-hitter, Robin Singh added 179 runs for the second wicket.
India seemed to be cruising at 250-1 in the 38th over. But the light was fading fast and it became increasingly difficult to spot the ball. Note that The National Stadium in Dhaka had floodlights but they were designed only for football matches and hence were not sufficient for a cricket match.
At one point, the umpires even decided to call off the match, but Indian captain Azharuddin intervened and it was decided that the match would continue. Azhar was fully aware that if the match was to be stopped at that point, Indians would have lost the match on the basis of Duckworth-Lewis calculations.
Soon after the resumption of play, India started losing wickets in quick succession. With 18 needed off 2 overs, wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia joined Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Mongia hit a boundary before getting run out in the last ball of the 47th over. As a result, India needed 9 runs to win the match in the final over. With fast bowler Javagal Srinath and Kanitkar at the crease, the odds were heavily stacked up against India.
The last over was to be bowled by off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq who had so far taken three wickets in the match. Both Srinath and Kanitkar initially failed to clear the boundary, but nevertheless, their mishits had got India within 3 runs of the target with two balls to spare. With the ball in Saqlain’s hand, the Pakistani supporters were confident of a victory for their team but Kanitkar had other ideas. He swung the next ball over the vacant mid-wicket region for a boundary and India completed a record run chase.