The India vs Pakistan match in the Asia Cup will be held on September 2 this year.
It is the World Cup year, and India and Pakistan are set to face each other again. Last year, they locked horns in the T20 World Cup and produced one of the most thrilling matches ever. Prior to that, the arch-rivals also played a couple of close matches in the T20 Asia Cup that went down the wire.
Similarly, even this year, before facing each other in the much-awaited ODI World Cup, the two teams will renew the rivalry in the 50-over format in the Asia Cup. India and Pakistan will be locking horns against each other on September 2 in the league stage and then, if they qualify for Super Four, on September 10. They can also play each other if they make the final of the event, which is on September 17.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2023 schedule: All India fixtures and more
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Best India vs Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup
Asia Cup 2010 – India won by 3 wickets
The two teams met for the India vs Pakistan game at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium and Pakistan did a fantastic job batting first. Salman Butt and Imran Farhat set the platform upfront with a 71-run opening stand with the former scoring an impressive 74. The middle-order batters Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal got starts but they couldn’t convert it into a big knock.
However, Shahid Afridi (32) and Kamran Akmal (51) provided a strong finish down the order. The Men in Green finished their innings at 267 in 49.3 overs. Praveen Kumar was the most successful bowler with three wickets while Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh picked up a couple each.
The chase was a fiery one as India lost Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli who scored just 10 and 18 runs respectively. However, Gautam Gambhir played aggressive cricket to keep the scoreboard going. He smashed 83 runs off 97 balls while skipper MS Dhoni also mustered 56 runs. Things went down the wire and at one stage, India needed 49 runs off just 29 balls when Ravindra Jadeja got out in the 46th over.
Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh then took the Men in Blue close even as the latter was also involved in a fiery verbal exchange with Shoaib Akhtar. The pumped-up Harbhajan eventually finished the last-over thriller with a six only for the celebrations to begin in the Indian camp.
Asia Cup 2012 – India won by six wickets
It was a must-win game for the Men in Blue in this India vs Pakistan clash in order to stay alive in the qualification race for the final of the Asia Cup. But Pakistan openers Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez plundered runs at will with a gigantic 224-run opening stand in just 35.5 overs. Both of them smashed brilliant centuries to set a platform for the batters to come and go berserk.
Umar Akmal and Younis Khan too had some fun taking on what seemed like a toothless Indian bowling attack in Dhaka. The latter scored a sparkling 52 off just 34 balls. But India made a brilliant comeback in the last few overs. They conceded only 56 runs off the last 43 balls after picking dangerous Umar Akmal’s wicket.
Eventually, Pakistan made 329 runs in their 50 overs which was still a massive total on the board. India tried eight bowlers and could only pick six wickets.
The pressure of the chase in an Indo-Pak game got to Gambhir as Hafeez pinned him plumb in front of the stumps. But little did Pakistan know that they would be at the receiving end of a Kohli classic that night. Kohli walked out to bat at number three and first stitched a vital 133-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar.
The master blaster smashed a quickfire 52 before being dismissed but it was all about Kohli that evening. Rohit Sharma then turned out to be the exact foil for him as they managed to add 172 runs for the third wicket. Kohli was in full flow taking on every Pakistan bowler that came hi way.
It was a gigantic effort from the future India captain as he smashed 183 runs off just 148 balls with 22 fours and two sixes to his name. Rohit also scored 68 runs and though India lost both batters to Umar Gul late in the chase, they got home comfortably with six wickets in hand and stayed alive in the tournament. 183 is still Kohli’s best score in his ODI career.
Asia Cup 2014 – Pakistan won by 1 wicket
This is arguably the most thrilling Asia Cup match in the ODIs between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. It was yet another encounter at Dhaka between them and batting first, the Men in Blue actually did well to reach a competitive total of 245 runs in their 50 overs after a few stutters at the start.
Though three of their batters – Rohit, Ambati Rayudu and Jadeja – scored half-centuries, constant fall of wickets always kept their run rate in check. Rohit didn’t convert a sparkling knock before getting out on 56 while it was the duo of Rayudu (58) and Jadeja (52*) that revived India’s innings which was in the doldrums at 155/5 in the 37th over.
Pakistan bowlers were exceptional, to say the least with Saeed Ajmal returning with figures of 3/40 in his 10 overs. Mohammad Talha (2/22 in 7 overs) and Hafeez (2/38) also bowled exceptionally well during their respective spells.
The chase started well for Pakistan will Sharjeel Khan and Ahmad Shehzad stitching 71 runs upfront in just 11 overs. But India made a stunning comeback courtesy of Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra. The two spinners spun a web around the Pakistan batters as they lost four wickets for just 42 runs.
However, Hafeez and Sohaib Maqsood joined hands and added 87 runs for the fifth wicket in this India vs Pakistan clash to take the team close. Hafeez scored 75 runs but his wicket gave India hope again as Pakistan slipped from being 200/4 in the 44th over to 236/9 in the final over. When Ajmal got out of the first ball of the last over of Ashwin, Pakistan needed 10 runs off last five balls with a wicket in hand.
This is when Afridi’s brilliance came to the fore as the attacking batter smashed two sixes to take his team home in a stunning fashion., helping his team register a memorable win in the India vs Pakistan game in the Asia Cup.
