Just a day before, after almost a year, India (IND) will once again square off against its arch rival Pakistan in the same event but different edition, T20I World Cup 2022 on 23 October (Sunday) at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The two rivals already had face-off twice this year in the T20I continental championship and both won one game each. The two teams haven't played much cricket in shortest format against each-other. India faced Pakistan eleven times in T20Is and won majorly on eight occasions. Of late, Pakistan has also started getting better of India though with just three wins overall. Ahead of the upcoming India versus Pakistan clash in Melbourne on Sunday, let's go through their last five head-to-head encounters in T20Is. India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2022, Melbourne Weather Report: Check Out the Rain Forecast and Pitch Report at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
IND vs PAK, 4 September 2022, Pakistan won by 5 wickets
In the eighth match of T20I Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. After making good use of powerplay and giving a good opening stand of 54 runs, both the Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were dismissed in the fifth and sixth over. The innings was then steadied by Virat Kohli scoring 60 off 44 balls to aid India to a decent total of 181 runs. In response, Pakistan despite losing an early wicket of captain Babar Azam, were able to pull off the things courtesy to Mohammad Rizwan's impactful innings of 71 off 51 complemented by the match-winning performance of Mohammad Nawaz who scored 42 off 20 to guide Pakistan to a victory by 5 wickets.
IND vs PAK, 28 August 2022, India won by 5 wickets
In the second match of men's T20I Asia Cup 2022, India, after winning the toss, invited Pakistan to bat first. Muhammad Rizwan's almost run a ball 43 and Iftikhar Ahmed's 28 off 22 were the only notable contributions in the final total of 147 runs. Indian pacers launched over Pakistan's batting line-up to get them all out on a low total. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's sensational spell of 4/26 alongwith Hardik Pandya's 3/25 and Arshdeep Singh's two wickets were the standout performances. The Pakistani middle order was a major disappointment. In response, India did reach the finishing line by the help of Hardik Pandya's 33 off 17 and Ravindra Jadeja's 35 off 29 at middle, but only after being troubled by the Pakistani bowlers specially Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah by taking three and two wickets respectively. India Likely Playing XI vs Pakistan: Predicted Indian 11 for ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Cricket Match in Melbourne.
IND vs PAK, 24 October 2021, Pakistan won by 10 wickets
In the 16th group stage match of ICC men's T20I World Cup 2021, Pakistan won the toss and asked India to bat first. India lost its opening pair of KL and Rohit Sharma to Shaheen Afridi in his back to back overs. Virat Kohli then challenged the opposition by gathering some runs as he made 57 off 49 balls while India kept losing wickets on the other side. Rishab Pant also scored 39 off 30 balls to help the side to 151 total which never seemed enough. Shaheen Afridi's fearsome spell of 3/31 restricted India in flexing their arms. In response, the opening pair of Pakistan stood tall to score 152 on their own without bothering the middle order. Muhammad Rizwan contributed 79 while as Babar Azam added 68 to help Pakistan register a historic victory by 10 wickets.
IND vs PAK, 19 March 2016, India won by 6 wickets
In the 19th match of super 10 stage at ICC men's T20I World Cup 2015/16, India elected to field first. Pakistani batting from top to middle failed to deliver putting on 118 runs on the board. Shoaib Malik top scored 26 off 16 and Umar Akmal added 22 off 16. India while batting lost early wickets in the form of opener Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan as Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Sami tried to gag the opponents. However, as Virat Kohli arrived, he made sure to single-handedly win the game for India as he scored 55 off 37 balls. Yuvraj Singh remained the second top scorer from the side as he made 24 off 23. Hence, India won by 6 wickets with 13 balls remaining. India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2022 Preview: Likely Playing XIs, H2H Records, Key Battles and More You Need To Know About IND vs PAK Cricket Match in Melbourne.
IND vs PAK, 27 February 2016,India won by 5 wickets
In the fourth match of men's Asia Cup 2016, India elected to field first. Pakistan's poor batting display sent the early winning joy in the Indian camp. The high class bowling by India shattered the Pakistani batting line-up to 83 all-out. Hardik Pandya's sensational 3 for 8, Ravindra Jadeja's 2 for 11 along with Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuvraj Singh's one wicket each restricted Pakistan on a meagre total. As India came in to bat, Mohammad Amir didn't let the opponent get it as a piece of cake and dismissed both openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane on golden duck in his very first over. On the very next over of Amir, the fast bowler got rid of dangerous Suresh Raina as India were reeling on 8-3 in 3 overs. However, Pakistan were roused back to reality by Virat Kohli's 49 off 51, as India won by 5 wickets and 27 balls remaining.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 22, 2022 09:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).