So, this is it! There doesn’t come anything bigger than this in world cricket, it’s India vs Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 this Sunday on the 28th of August. For sure, everyone’s utterly excited for the fixture and why won’t it be the case? The past years’ rivalry between both the country, whether on the cricket ground or on the country line, makes the game more than just a game!
The two arch-rivals faced off each other around 9 months ago in the World T20 2021. In the fixture, in which, the Indian fans had to leave the stadium with some disappointment as the Blues got beaten by the Greens by 10 wickets.
However, both the teams have gone through a lot of changes with the Indian skipper stepping down and new players joining both teams.
On the 28th of August at 7:30 PM, both India and Pakistan are surely going to pause for a few hours and will be watching the clash of rivals. But before that, how about we know some interesting facts and history about the clash of these two countries in the Asia Cup?
Trust us, it'll tenfold your excitement for the upcoming fixture.Fascinating Facts About India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Clash
The Asia Cup has always been a major medium for the clash of the two cricket giants – India and Pakistan. With such big match records of both the teams in the Asia Cup, there are a lot of facts that you must also know. So here they are:
- Both teams have clashed 14 times so far in the Asia Cup. While India has an edge by winning 8 times, Pakistan has registered 5 wins over India in the Asia cup. One match ended in no result.
- In the 1997 Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, the match result got abandoned by heavy rain.
- While India has won the Asia Cup title record 7 times, Pakistan has been able to clinch the title only 2 times.
- In the year 1991, India was given the opportunity to host the Asia Cup. The same year, Pakistan withdrew from participating.
- India has faced defeat 3 times in the Asia Cup final. Amusingly, all three defeats were against Sri Lanka. As a matter of fact, India has also won the most number of finals against Sri Lanka.
- The Pakistan team has reached the Asia Cup final four times winning two of them. One against Sri Lanka and another against Bangladesh.
- Interestingly, India and Pakistan have never faced each other in the Asia Cup final.
History Between India And Pakistan In Asia Cup
Since the start of the Asia Cup in 1984, India and Pakistan have clashed quite a few times leading to great match history between the two.
- The first Asia Cup clash in 1984 – India won against Pakistan in the inaugural Asia Cup by 54 runs. India also won the championship that year.
- The arch-rivals again faced each other in the year 1988. The blue army again emerged as the winner beating Pakistan by 4 wickets.
- In the year 1995 Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan, the Green players won for the first time against India in Asia Cup.
- The 1997 Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan got canceled due to rain.
- Both the teams then faced off in 2000. This time, Pakistan defeated India by 44 runs to equal their record of wins.
- In 2004, Pakistan again defeated India by 59 runs registering 3 wins against the blues in the Asia Cup.
- It was the most fun for fans as India and Pakistan clashed two times in 2008. In the group stage match, India defeated Pakistan. However, in the Super 4s later in the tournament, Pakistan bounced back.
- The team then came against each other in 2010. This time, India won over Pakistan by 3 wickets.
- In 2012, India again defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets. A match that Kohli fans will surely remember as the maestro made 183 runs off 148 balls.
- Pakistan won over India after a long time in the 2014 Asia Cup. This time, the blue army was defeated by a great 34 off 18 balls knock by Shahid Afridi.
- In the 2016 Asia Cup clash, India won over Pakistan by 5 wickets making it a total of 6 wins against Pakistan.
- In the 2018 Asia Cup, India and Pakistan again played each other two times. This year, India defeated Pakistan in both, the group stage match as well as the Super 4s.
Major Highlights Of India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022
The match will surely be of top thrill. While we can’t predict which player is going to be the most influential, there are still a few players to keep your eyes on!
- Rohit Sharma: The Indian skipper holds the record for most runs scored against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Therefore, it won’t be wrong to have high expectations from him.
- Virat Kohli: Even though Virat Kohli hasn’t been in top form for a while now, he indeed has a good record against Pakistan. Therefore, we can think of him playing well again.
- Hasan Ali: This Pakistani bowler has shown a really promising performance lately and the same can be expected in the upcoming match.
- Babar Azam: He is currently ranked #1 in ODI. Not considering him a major player would be foolish.
Parting Words:
The clash between India and Pakistan has always been a major moment for not only the involved countries but for the rest of the world too. While the whole world will be setting its eye on India vs Pak match, it will be exciting to see which team will emerge as the winner. May the best team win!