ICC Cricket World Cup: Decoding India's 8-0 record against Pakistan
India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in match 12 of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in Ahmedabad. India continued their dominance against their arch-rivals Pakistan as they have now stretched the record to 8-0 in ODI World Cup clashes. Since 1992, the Men in Blue have not taken a foot wrong in these high-voltage matches. Here we decode India's dominant record over Pakistan.
Why does this story matter?
India have shown nerves of steel in their ODI WC matches against Pakistan and the record proves how dominant they have been. To put the achievement in context, India have an inferior head-to-head record against Pakistan in ODIs. They have faced each other in 135 ODIs with Pakistan winning 73 matches in comparison to India's 57 wins.
India defeated Pakistan by 43 runs in 1992, Sydney
India defeated Pakistan by 43 runs in the 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup in Sydney. A young Sachin Tendulkar batted with great valor to slam a fifty and helped India reach a score of 216/7. In reply, Aamer Sohail (62) and Javed Miandad (40) gave some fight but Pakistan were folded for 173. Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Manoj Prabhakar scalped two wickets each.
Navjot Sidhu's quarter-final masterclass in the 1996 WC against Pakistan
India thrashed Pakistan by 39 runs in the quarter-finals of the 1996 ICC World Cup. Navjot Singh Sidhu played a sensational 93-run knock and later Ajay Jadeja played a 45-run cameo off 25 deliveries. The duo helped India post a competitive total of 287/8. Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble claimed three wickets each to restrict Pakistan to only 248/9. Sohail slammed a fifty.
Venkatesh Prasad's heroics in the 1999 World Cup clash
India won by 47 runs against Pakistan in the 1999 ICC World Cup. Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin slapped fifties along with a fighting 45 for Tendulkar which allowed India to somehow reach a total of 227/6. In reply, Pakistan believed they could chase it down until Prasad came up with a heroic spell of 5/27 to bundle them out for 180.
Tremendous Tendulkar hammers Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup fixture
India continued the streak against Pakistan in the 2003 ICC World Cup with a six-wicket win at Centurion. Batting first, Saeed Anwar crunched a magnificent century while the others failed to support the opening batter. Still, Pakistan posted 273/7. Chasing the score, Tendulkar looked in spectacular touch as he slammed a 65-ball 98 before Dravid and Yuvraj Singh (50) steered him home.
India trumped Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup semi-finals
India stepped up to the expectations against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup semi-final as they won by 29 runs. Tendulkar's 85-run knock in Mohali had already set the tone for the Indians in a crucial fixture. Ultimately, India posted 260/9. Wahab Riaz starred for Pakistan with 5/46. In reply, all five Indian bowlers scalped two wickets each as Pakistan folded for 231.
Kohli's ton hammered Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup clash
India defeated Pakistan by 76 runs in the 2015 World Cup as Virat Kohli played a sensational knock. Kohli hammered a 126-ball 107 while Shikhar Dhawan supported him with a 76-ball 73 as India posted 300/7. Sohail Khan claimed 5/55. However, Mohammed Shami's four-fer rattled the Pakistan batting order (4/35). Misbah-ul-Haq (76) gave some fight but it wasn't enough in the end.
Rohit Sharma's heroics against Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup
Rohit's recorded-breaking knock of 140 helped India defeat Pakistan by 89 runs (DLS method). KL Rahul and Kohli also slammed fifties but they got overshadowed in front of Rohit's masterclass. His knock helped India reach a total of 336/5. Pakistan's chase was disrupted by rain and apart from Fakhar Zaman and Imad Wasim, no one stepped up to the occasion.
India's seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the 2023 ODI WC
India completed their 8-0 streak over Pakistan in the 2023 ICC World Cup as they won the match by seven wickets. Pakistan started well as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitched a solid partnership. However, they suffered a massive collapse and were bundled out for 191. In reply, Rohit and Shreyas Iyer hammered fifties as India chased down the score of in 30.3 overs.
Man of the Match award winners in India-Pakistan WC clashes
A look at the Player of the Match award winners in India-Pakistan World Cup matches. 1992: Sachin Tendulkar 1996: Navjot Singh Sidhu 1999: Venkatesh Prasad 2003: Sachin Tendulkar 2011: Sachin Tendulkar 2015: Virat Kohli 2019: Rohit Sharma 2023: Jasprit Bumrah.
Highest runs for India versus Pakistan in ODI World Cup
The highest scores for India versus Pakistan in the ODI World Cup clashes. 1992: Tendulkar 54*, 1996: Sidhu 93, 1999: Dravid 61, 2003: Tendulkar 98, 2011: Tendulkar 85, 2015: Kohli 107, 2019: Rohit 140, and 2023: Rohit 86.
More stats regarding India-Pakistan World Cup clashes
Rohit's 140-run knock in the 2019 World Cup is the highest score in such matches. Similarly, Prasad's 5/27 in the 1999 World Cup clash is the best bowling figures in this fixture. Wahab and Sohail are the other bowlers with fifers. Apart from Rohit, Anwar (101) and Kohli (107) are the other two centurions. Tendulkar has slammed three fifties in this fixture.
Biggest ICC Cricket World Cup winning streak against a team
India's 8-0 winning streak against Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup is the joint-biggest winning streak in the competition along with Pakistan's 8-0 unbeaten streak against Sri Lanka. WI's 6-0 winning record against Zimbabwe and NZ's 6-0 streak against Bangladesh are in second position.
