- By Himanshu Badola
- Thu, 10 Aug 2023 02:57 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India and Pakistan will meet in the Asia Cup next month for the first time since the league stage fixture of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia where Virat Kohli played a legendary knock to take his team to famous victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Fans are expected to witness the spark of this crazy fixture multiple times this year with both Asia Cup and ODI World Cup approaching. There is at least an encounter between these two great ambassadors of the game in both the Asia Cup and World Cup later this year.
Talking about the Asia Cup first, Pakistan are the designated host for the tournament but a few matches will be taking place in Sri Lanka as well to promise the execution of a hybrid model.
India will kick off their campaign with their first match against the arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2 in Pallekele.
Meanwhile, the two teams are very likely to clash for the second time against each other in the Super Fours round on September 10 in Colombo. If the two sides qualify for the mega final, they will meet for the third time on September 17.
When it comes to the ODI World Cup, Pakistan has never defeated India in the history of the tournament. They met on seven occasions, with India winning all seven.
The rivalry is considered more crucial than any other fixture and the fact that India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series in a long time due to political tensions increases the buzz to an extreme level.
As per the recently updated schedule of the ODI World Cup, both the teams will meet on October 14 in Ahmedabad in the group stage of the enormous event with fans hoping for another clash of the titans if they could face each other again in the knockout stage.
India last faced Pakistan in a knock-out game in ODI World Cup in 2011 when the Men in Blue co-hosted the tournament and went on to lift the trophy for the second time in their history.
Talking about the recent knockout games in the ICC events, Pakistan got the better of India to clinch the Champions Trophy title in 2017 in England.
With the last few fixtures across tournaments ending as evenly poised, a mouth-watering match can be anticipated as both the teams have world-class players and will try to give their best in order to lift the title in the end.
India being the host of the tournament will be under immense pressure considering the drought of an ICC trophy for a decade now.
On the other hand, Pakistan will also be tested in front of the rival crowd with the players expected to receive a hostile welcome at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India vs Pakistan cricket match is more than just a sporting event as it brings millions and billions of people on the card from both the neighboring nations. The rivalry has been going on for decades now with India having an upper hand when it comes to the ICC events.
This fixture always holds a special place in the hearts of cricket fans all across the globe considering the craze for the game among people of both countries.
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The high-profile India-Pakistan match always proves to be the most anticipated one with so much beyond the game at stake, be it viewership, sponsors, or the emotions of the fans of both teams.
One thing is clear, these few possible fixtures between these two teams in a few weeks from now could set a perception regarding their presence in terms of performance in world cricket.