MEMORABLE TIES Lastball six Sledging gone wrong Six short of the double hundred Tendulkar torments Pakistan ‘Miandad wasn’t batting’

There couldn’t have been a better match-up in the Champions Trophy final than India playing Pakistan. The rivalry has often brought out the best from the teams. HT looks at some encounters that have stayed in the memory:

April 18, 1986 It was the final of the AustralAsia Cup in Sharjah and Pakistan were on the mat right from the start but a heroic knock from Javed Miandad (116* off 114 balls), the only player to score more than 35, took the fight to the wire with four runs required off the final delivery. It was the last wicket and all three results were possible but Miandad did the unthinkable by lofting Chetan Sharma for a six, carving out the yorker as a full toss to launch it into the stands. March 9, 1996 It was the World Cup quarters. Pakistan, the world champions, were on the backfoot at the innings break as India scored 287. Pakistan were off to a flier. After hammering Venkatesh Prasad for a boundary, Aamer Sohail gestured to suggest to Prasad that more shots would follow. Usually a calm person, Prasad did not react but had Sohail bowled the next delivery. It was a game-changing moment and India won by 39 runs. May 21, 1997 The Chennai ODI knock was so dominant, it seemed Saeed

Anwar, once he crossed 150, will get the first double ton. Studded with 22 fours and five sixes, Anwar had taken the world by storm and was on the verge of a then unthinkable landmark. However, he fell six short. The Indian crowd gave him a standing ovation. India had a centurion, but Rahul Dravid (107) and Vinod Kambli (65) fell 35 runs shy of the 328-run target. March 1, 2003 In Centurion, Pakistan put up 273/7 thanks to 101 from Saeed Anwar. In reply, India lost Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly off consecutive deliveries but Abdul Razzaq dropped Sachin Tendulkar four balls later. Tendulkar ripped apart the Pakistan bowling attack of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, all in top form, and scored 98 off 75. India went on to win and keep their World Cup record against Pakistan intact. March 13, 2004 In the Champions Trophy game in Edgbaston, India put up 349 thanks to Rahul Dravid (99) and Virender Sehwag (79). Pakistan weren’t unnerved. Inzamam-ul Haq played a captain’s knock en route to his 122 and found a perfect partner in Yousuf Youhana (73). They almost took their side over the line but a brilliant final over from Nehra meant the hosts required six off the last ball. Ganguly later said: “In any case, Miandad wasn’t batting!”