So eventually, India and Pakistan will be locking horns with each other in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The multi-nation tournament has gone like a well-written screenplay where the two heroes meet in the final face-off.
India reached finals by defeating Bangladesh on Thursday by 9 wickets, while Pakistan had defeated England by 8 wickets respectively in the semis. This most awaited encounter will be played on 18th June 2017, Sunday and it expected to live up to the buzz it is generating. This will be the second ICC tournament final between India and Pakistan after the World T20 2007 finals in South Africa.
However, there have been a bunch of fascinating bilateral series between the two nations; here are 4 of the best finals between India and Pakistan in multi-nation tournaments.
1. Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket, Australia, 1985
This was the first time that the arch-rivals locked horns in a final of a multi-nation tournament. It was a mini World Cup and teams like New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka also took part apart from hosts Australia and India and Pakistan.
India had met Pakistan in the league stages as well and managed to win the match by 6 wickets. However, finals was a completely different situation, with more pressure on India, as they were the World Champions, as they have defeated West Indies in the final of the Prudential World Cup in 1983 in that famous final at Lord’s, London.
India won the finals by 8 wickets. Ravi Shastri was rewarded with the Man of the tournament award, got an Audi car as a gift, which made a lot of buzz during those days and India coagulated their status as double World Champions and a rising ODI super power.
2. Austral-Asia Cup, Sharjah, 1994
In 1994, the final edition of the Austral-Asia Cup took place, as scheduled got demanding for multi-nation tournaments. The 1994 tournament saw India, Pakistan, New Zealand, UAE, Sri Lanka and Australia take on one another.
India defeated Australia in the semis, while Pakistan outplayed New Zealand. The final was expected to be a blockbuster one and it proved to be so. India offered Pakistan to bat first after winning the toss.
Pakistan amassed the 250 run mark, which was considered a match-winning total in those days. India was expected to chase down the total, as they had chased a similar total against Australia in the semis. But, the Indian team was bundled out for 211 runs. Pakistan won the Pepsi Austral-Asia Cup 1994 by 39 runs.
3. Silver Jubilee Independence Cup, Dhaka, 1998
The final of the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup was scheduled to take place in Dhaka in 1998. It will always be remembered Sourav Ganguly’s century, Tendulkar’s counter attack on Pakistan and Hrishikesh Kanitkar took India to winning side of the line.
India made a world record in chasing down the total of 300 above when chasing 300 was not a normal thing. However, it became possible Ganguly’s 124 and Sachin Tendulkar’s blistering 41 in 26 balls, which set the rhythm from there for the chase.
4. ICC World T20 2007
In the inaugural edition of the ICC World T20 in 2007, which was held in South Africa, the final was played between India and Pakistan.
India had gone into the tournament as underdogs, as big guns like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly etc., decided not to take part in the tournament. The long haired wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni was leading the Indian team on the recommendation of senior players.
India had met Pakistan in the league matches as well and that match was tied, India won the 2 points via a bowl-out. Now the two teams met again in the finals.
After winning the toss, Dhoni decided to bat first, but this time, only Indian opener Gautam Gambhir made 75 off 54 balls to take India to a respectable 157/5 in 20 overs. He was supported by a 16 ball 30* by Rohit Sharma.
During Pakistan’s chase, they were 9 wickets down and the equation came to 13 runs from 6 balls and Dhoni did the unthinkable and gave the over to Joginder Sharma.
Joginder bowled the wide first ball and was hit for a six on the second ball. Now with 6 needed off 4 balls, Misbah played a scoop shot over the short fine leg but was caught by Sreesanth at short fine leg and the stadium and the Indian team exploded in joyousness as India won the first ever World T20 title.
This was the first time; India and Pakistan locked horns in the finals of any ICC tournament ever.
