Published: Jul 20, 2023, 04:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 20, 2023, 04:39 PM (IST)
THE INDIA and Pakistan will continue their historic rivalry in the World Cup later this year, as the two arch-rivals will compete in the upcoming ICC tournament at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both teams last competed against each other in the 50-over format at the 2019 edition of the World Cup with India registering a win over Pakistan.
Both teams have met twice at the ICC T20 World Cups since that. While Pakistan thrashed India by 10 wickets in the 2021 edition, Virat Kohli’s heroic knock helped India earn a four-wicket win in Melbourne a year later.
The games among India and Pakistan are not so common over recent years, due to the political relations between the two nations. Both teams only clash against one another in Asia Cups and ICC events, adding to the fan interest from the two nations.
Normally, it is the most anticipated clash on the cricket field. The T20 World Cup match from last year went down to the very last ball, with India winning thrillingly, but former India captain Sourav Ganguly insisted that the ties have largely been “one-sided.”
“There is a lot of hype in this match but the quality has not been that good for a long time because India kept on winning one-sided. Pakistan probably defeated India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in Dubai,” said Sourav Ganguly.
After the announcement of the Asia Cup 2023 schedule, former Pakistan bowler Waqar Younis was approached to reply to Sourav Ganguly’s comment. The great bowler, who has played Ganguly a lot in the past, chose not to respond directly to the statement. Instead, he insisted that it “doesn’t matter” who said what because an India-Pakistan match is more significant than any other game.
“I don’t want to comment on that,” Waqar said after the reporter name dropped Ganguly.
“I feel we have had good games. The match that Pakistan won was pretty one-sided (in 2021 T20 WC). But the ones we lost were pretty close as well. So, you can say anything you want, the matches between India and Pakistan are the biggest in the world. When the scale of the game is that big, no one’s comments really matter,” the former Pakistan captain further added in a video posted by paktv.
