19th September, 2018. Cricket fans on either side of the Wagah border have marked this date on their calendars, for the ‘mother of all battles’—as is any sporting contest between India and Pakistan so commonly touted—is slated to take place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on that day.
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The arch-rivals have faced each other a dozen times in the Asia Cup thus far, with India leading the scoreline 6-5. One game—in the 1997 Asia Cup—had to be abandoned due to inclement weather and bad light.
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With the thirteenth Asia Cup encounter between the two neighbouring countries just a couple of days away, we look back at five of the most gruelling Indo-Pak matches in Asia Cup history:-
1. Match 3 of Asia Cup 1984
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, UAE
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It was the the inaugural edition of the Asia Cup and India emerged triumphant by defeating Pakistan in a low-scoring affair at Sharjah on 13th April, 1984. The week-long tournament (then called the Rothman’s Asia Cup) had three teams participating: India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and after each team played each other once in a round robin format India were declared champions by virtue of winning both their matches. In the game against Pakistan, wicket-keeper Surinder Khanna top-scored with 56 opening the batting and handy contributions from Sunil Gavaskar (36) and Sandeep Patil (43) helped India pile up a total of 188/4 at the end of 46 overs.
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The total, though apparently below-par, provided a steep chase for the Pakistani batsmen as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were never able to forge a significant partnership that would lay the groundwork for a Pakistani victory. All of Pakistan’s top five batsmen recorded double digit scores, yet none was able to convert his start into an innings of substantial stature. Amusingly, four Pakistani batsmen were involved in run outs and what further compounded the pressure on them was some extremely parsimonious bowling by the Indian bowlers. Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri in particular were the stars for India with the ball as they returned with three wickets each. Pakistan eventually capitulated to 134, thereby handing India a win by 54 runs and their maiden Asia Cup title.
2. Match 4 of Asia Cup 2010
Venue: Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
This game is remembered more for the tempers that flared on the pitch than the last over heroics of Harbhajan Singh with which the game culminated in an Indian victory. Having won the toss, Shahid Afridi’s Pakistan chose to bat first and were all out for 267.
The Pakistani openers—Salman Butt and Imran Farhat—got things off to a soaring start, putting up 71 runs for the first wicket, but some good bowling by Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh in the middle overs stemmed the flow of runs before a late flourish by Kamran Akmal (51 off 41) helped his team reach that total.
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Chasing 262 for victory, India were dealt a huge blow when Virender Sehwag departed for 10 in the 11th over. It was Gautam Gambhir who took the onus of clinging on to one end and together with M.S Dhoni, he forged a 98-run partnership for the third wicket before being bowled by Saeed Ajmal in the 36th over.
The Indian middle-order chipped in with small but meaningful contributions and it all boiled down to three runs being required off the last two balls, with Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar being there at the crease. The hearts were pounding fast in both camps and before anyone fell victim to a cardiac arrest, Harbhajan whacked a good length delivery from Amir over midwicket for a six and brought down the curtains on what is considered by many to be the most thrilling game ever in the history of the Asia Cup. The Pakistani team in general and Shoaib Akhtar in particular, with whom Harbhajan had an altercation while batting, were therefore rendered absolutely silent.
3. Match 5 of Asia Cup 2012
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka
The current Indian captain Virat Kohli’s highest ODI score of 183 came in this game. Riding on centuries from both Mohammad Hafeez (105) and Nasir Jamshed (112), Pakistan posted a handsome 329/6 at the end of their 50 overs.
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After a brilliant outing with the bat, Hafeez returned to remove Gambhir on only the second ball of the innings.What ensued from thereon was a prolific second wicket partnership of 133 between Tendulkar and Kohli which pushed Pakistan out of the contest. Tendulkar made a delightful 52 off 48 balls, while Kohli—who by then had evolved into India’s most potent match-winner in ODI cricket—toyed with the reputed Pakistani bowling attack comprising Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Wahab Riaz, which enabled India to win the game with 13 balls to spare.
Incidentally, the match turned out to be Tendulkar’s final ODI appearance when he announced his retirement from the 50-over format later that year.
4. Match 6 of Asia Cup 2014
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka
This particular game swung like a pendulum all the way through, with both sides having equal chances of winning it until Shahid Afridi clouted two big sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in the final over to take his side past the finish line with a solitary wicket to spare. In the absence of some of the senior players like M.S Dhoni and Suresh Raina (who had been rested prior to the WT20 which was scheduled to begin in a month’s time from then), India, batting first, posted a modest 245/8—thanks to fifties from Rohit Sharma (56), Ambati Rayudu (58) and Ravindra Jadeja (52 n.o.).
Pakistan were looking all set for a comfortable chase after their openers (Sharjeel Khan and Ahmed Shehzad) put up 71 runs for the first wicket. However, from that point onward, the Pak batting fell away like a pack of cards, courtesy a fine bowling partnership between Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Sharma which saw them share five wickets in between.
Just when the game seemed to have slipped out of Pakistan’s hands, Afridi—coming in at seven—played a blitzkrieg (34* off 18 balls) to steer his side home and provide yet another dramatic finish to an India-Pakistan cricketing duel.
5. Match 4 of Asia Cup 2016: the only edition to be played in the T20 format
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka
This was the first time India were playing against Mohammed Amir since his return to international cricket after serving a five-year ban following the infamous spot-fixing scandal in 2010, and it didn’t turn out to be a pleasant déjà vu for the Indians. The M.S Dhoni-led Indian team won the toss and sent Pakistan to bat first on what turned out to be a hostile track for batsmen, but a sumptuous one for the bowlers.
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A spirited bowling display by Hardik Pandya (3/8), ably assisted by Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, triggered off a batting collapse in the opposition camp which ended in Pakistan getting bundled out for a meagre total of 83 in 17.3 overs.
The chase was by no means an easy affair for the Indians as a fiery opening burst from Amir had them reduced to 8/3 at the end of three overs. Once again, it was Virat Kohli who rose to the occasion and produced a priceless 49 to singlehandedly bail his team out of deep waters. India won the game by five wickets and with 27 balls to spare.