Five great IndiaPakistan ODIs
looks back at five memorable one-day international matches between the Asian cricket giants.
March 10, 1985 (Melbourne), India won by eight wickets
The first India-Pakistan ‘global’ final, albeit not at an ICC event, saw the two nations meet in the climax of the World Championship of Cricket. A forerunner of the Champions Trophy, the seven-team tournament featuring all of the thenTest playing was organised by the Victorian Cricket Association. Kapil Dev, who led India to the 1983 World Cup, reduced Pakistan to 33 for three. Javed Miandad and Imran Khan tried to revive the innings but a double-strike by leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan saw Pakistan held to a lowly 176 for nine. India openers Ravid Shastri and Kris Srikkanth then shared a century stand on the way to a commanding victory.
April 18, 1986 (Sharjah), Pakistan won by one wicket
A match no fan on either side of the border will forget. Pakistan, needing four runs off the last ball to lift the Australasia Cup, sailed through as Miandad pulled a full toss from seamer Chetan Sharma for six. Instantly, Miandad became a national hero and Sharma was reduced to facing barbs and insults on his return home. March 1, 2003 (Centurion), India won by six wickets
The World Cup match featured a classic cricket confrontation between two global stars in India batsman Sachin Tendulkar (pix) and Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. Tendulkar smashed a 75-ball 98 to help his team achieve a 274-run target. Akhtar bagged just one wicket, that of Tendulkar, while conceding 72 runs in his 10 overs. Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar (101) was the only batsman to score a century in the match.
March 30, 2011 (Mohali), India won by 29 runs A World Cup semifinal match that Pakistan ‘lost’ as much as India, on home soil, won with the visitors dropping Tendulkar four times during an 85 that also saw him survive two close lbw calls. Pakistan’s chase slowed to a halt in the face of a tight fielding effort, with Misbahul-Haq criticised for taking 76 balls to make 56.