Ahmedabad (Gujarat): The ODI World Cup is a carnival for cricket fans as they see cricket of the highest quality as elite teams in the world cricket battle it out to lift the silverware.
Although most of the games in the marquee tournament are significant, the India-Pakistan clash is the one that resonates with utmost passion and enthusiasm amongst the fans. This was also evident in Ahmedabad on Saturday as both the teams locked horns in the World Cup 2023 and a capacity crowd was witnessed at the venue. India was eyeing to continue their winning streak against Pakistan in the 50-over World Cups while Pakistan was keen on clawing out of the continuous hammering they were facing by the arch-rivals.
However, India was too good for Pakistan as they crushed the opponents by seven wickets on Saturday here and extended their winning streak to 8-0 in the history of World Cups. India first bowled out the Babar Azam-led team for 191 and then cantered to the target in just 30.3 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front with a blistering 86, in which he hammered six boundaries and as many sixes.
These two teams first met in a World Cup fixture in 1992 when India kicked off their legacy of dominating the arch-rivals. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar shined with the willow for the Men in Blue guiding his team to a total of 216/7 while Pakistan was skittled out for 173. The match also involved some witty antics from legendary Javed Miandad and former India stumper Kiran More, which was also one of the talking points around the game.
The next encounter was four years later and India emerged triumphant yet again by 39 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. However, this time, the rivalry between players from opposite sides witnessed one of the best responses to sledging.
Aamer Sohail started the Pakistan innings in a swashbuckling manner and he even pointed to the area where he was gonna hit the next delivery from former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad. However, Prasad didn't lose his cool and responded in a befitting manner. Prasad cleaned up Soahil on the next ball and pointed in the direction of the pavilion after shattering the stumps of the left-hander.
The next showdown was in the 1999 World Cup when the Kargil war was in the headlines. India emerged victorious yet again in Manchester as former batter Rahul Dravid and former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin smashed fifties while former pacer Venkatesh Prasad dazzled with the ball taking five wickets. As a result of a clinical effort, the Indian side registered a victory by 47 runs. India was coming on the back of a transition period in the 2003 World Cup but it was a fruitful journey for them as they made it to the final of the tournament to eventually lose to title winners Australia.
The Sourav Ganguly-led side managed a 47-run win and the contest was highlighted by the kind of destruction caused by India's opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag against Pakistan's pace attack comprising Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis. The cricket fans waited for a long gap of seven years to witness the next encounter.
India played Pakistan in the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup and so the stakes were high for both sides. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped five times while the Decision Review System saved him once after being given LBW and he went on to score 85. Pakistan were outplayed once again and pacer Wahab Riaz was their sole performer to shine with the ball. Pakistan failed to change its fate in the 2015 and 2019 editions as well and suffered defeats on both occasions.
