Germany vs Netherlands, Argentina vs Brazil, Australia vs New Zealand, Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspurs, Barcelona vs Real Madrid, New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox, Prost vs Senna, the Ashes. One word comes to mind when we come across these sets of opponents pitted against each other – rivalry! If we were to list down fierce rivalries in sport, we would be left with very little space to mention anything else. One rivalry however, that has been probably marred by agendas apart from sport is the India-Pakistan rivalry in cricket. When the two teams face off in a bilateral series, fans go gaga to keep themselves free and watch the match in large groups. The stakes are higher when India and Pakistan meet in World Cups or other ICC tournaments.

The latest addition to the long list of meetings is the Champions Trophy final, to be staged this Sunday in London. There is a different aura about India-Pakistan clashes when it happens at a global event. Indian and Pakistani fans alone dominate most world events even if the two nations don’t host them. England, in particular, has a mammoth population of immigrants from the two countries. The first India vs Pakistan game in an ICC event dates back to the 1992 World Cup. Since then, India have enjoyed the upper hand in the ODI world cup and the World T20. The Champions Trophy is the only tournament where Pakistan have managed to beat India twice. A brief history of how these countries fare when they go up against each other in such tournaments is a must before the big final on Sunday.

ICC World Cup:

In the first three editions of the ICC cricket world cup, the fans from India and Pakistan were deprived of the mega clash. The locked doors were knocked down in the 1992 World Cup in Australia. One of the most memorable moments from Indo-Pak clashes was witnessed in this encounter. Javed Miandad’s imitation of Kiran More with a frog jump appealing behind the stumps was a moment that very few fans can forget. Miandad jumped several times after getting irritated with More’s constant chirping. India won the first ever battle against Pakistan in a world cup.

In the 1996 world cup quarter-final, one can recollect Ajay Jadeja’s belligerent hitting off Waqar Younis’ bowling in the death overs. His cameo took India to a sizable total. The chase began well for Pakistan until Venkatesh Prasad’s sent Amir Sohail off, a delivery after the latter smacked the bowler for a boundary and mumbled a few words to him. India won the game comfortably in the end.

India met Pakistan met in the Super 8 stage of the subsequent world cup in England, in 1999. A handy partnership between Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin took India to 227. Team India defended an average total, courtesy another brilliant performance by Venkatesh Prasad, who claimed a five-fer.

2003 was perfectly set up for a majestic match between the arch-rivals. Pakistan batted first and a Saeed Anwar century powered them to 273. The target didn’t look easy to the eye with the kind of bowling attack Pakistan possessed back then. Wasim Akram, Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar were the faces of Pakistan’s pace attack. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag threw all such notions out of the window with a whirlwind start. The upper cut by Tendulkar off Akhtar and the one by Sehwag of Waqar are etched in the Indian fans’ memory. Sachin was eventually dismissed on 98, but India won the game with 4.2 overs to spare.

Eight years later, in 2011, India and Pakistan met in the world cup semi-final. Both the teams were in prime form and the contest was expected to be extremely competitive. It was Sachin Tendulkar, once again, who scored 85. Pakistan’s day was underlined by their poor fielding, as they provided Sachin with a handful of lives. The chase couldn’t get going for Pakistan as they got bowled out 30 runs short of the target, as all five Indian bowlers claimed two wickets apiece.

The 2015 World Cup ended up being a rather one-sided affair. On the back of a Virat Kohli ton, India posted a 300-plus target for Pakistan. Once again, it was Pakistan’s batting that let them down. Barring Misbah-ul-Haq, the rest of the batsmen surrendered meekly and they were bowled out for just 224. The Indian team have maintained an unbeaten record against Pakistan in the ICC cricket world cup.

World T20:

In what was the latest edition to ICC’s global tournaments, the World T20 made its first appearance in the cricketing calendar in 2007. Indian and Pakistan met during the group stages and the game went right down to the wire, ending up in a tie. There were no Super Overs back then; there were Bowl Outs instead. Each team got five chances at the stumps. India nailed the stumps on their first three attempts, while Pakistan did the exact opposite – missed their first three, thus bringing an end to the Bowl Out. The next meeting was directly in the final. The inaugural World T20 couldn’t have asked for anything better. It wasn’t a high scoring affair, but Pakistan were in trouble in the chase, as they do with regularity. It all ended with a brain-fade by Misbah when he looked to get to victory with a scoop, only to be caught at short fine leg.

Sadly the following three contests in the World T20 turned out to be one-sided, as India bowled and batted well to beat Pakistan in all three games. The Pakistani batsmen couldn’t go past 130 in any of those games, having batted first in all of them. India succeeded in maintaining yet another 100 percent record against Pakistan in an ICC tournament.

Champions Trophy:

This is the one ICC tournament in which Pakistan have enjoyed some success against India. They won the first two matches, in 2004 and 2009. In the first game, Pakistan bowled India out for just 200 and got past the finish line with two balls to spare. In the second, they posted their only 300-plus ODI total in an ICC event against India, powered by a Shoaib Malik century. India could manage just 248 in the chase.

The following two battles took place on English soil. The first one came during India’s unbeaten title-winning run in 2013. The bowlers were all over Pakistan as they were bowled out for just 165. Not a single batsman got past 50 runs, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up two wickets each. The chase was marred by rain, but the Indian batsmen ensured that they didn’t play rashly and preserved their wickets. The target was brought down to 102 and India were supposed to get there in 22 overs, which they did comfortably.

India were put in to bat by Pakistan in their latest clash, in the ongoing Champions Trophy. The batsmen didn’t disappoint, as the top four went on to score meaty half-centuries. Dhawan and Rohit provided a sound foundation with fifties, while Kohli & Yuvraj began the launch towards the death overs. Hardik Pandya chipped in with a handy 20 off just 6 balls, providing the perfect finish. The Indian bowlers made merry in the second innings as Pakistan could only manage 164. Jadeja and Bhuvi stalled a decent start as they nipped away one and two wickets respectively. Hardik Pandya also chipped in with a couple of scalps while Yadav finished with a three-fer.

Before the turn of the decade, India-Pakistan contests were mostly close and evenly fought. However, since the 2011 world cup fixture, all the matches between the two in ICC tournaments have been aced by India without breaking much sweat. Perhaps the intensity for a fan during an India-Pakistan game has reduced from what it was, say about a couple of decades ago. Even though the two teams meet rarely these days due to political tensions between the nations, the lack of balance in the competition has probably led to such outcomes.

One can never write Pakistan off in any format. They possess the unique ability to be unpredictable and surprise teams at any given point. They have been a different team since their loss to India in their first game. Their run through to the final has been quite impressive, but India still remain the giant they need to tame to lift the title. India’s balance in their bowling and batting will give them the advantage going in to the game. The final will be played at the Oval, on Sunday at 3 PM.