India and Pakistan will clash on Sunday in ICC Men’s World Cup 2019— and Virat Kohli will hope a 27-year old jinx continues

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India and Pakistan will clash on Sunday in ICC Men’s World Cup 2019— and Virat Kohli will hope a 27-year old jinx continues

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Cricket teams of India and Pakistan are about to face each other in the upcoming ICC World Cup tournament on June 16. The two teams share the fiercest rivalry that cannot be seen in any other sport and that may be the reason behind all the tickets being sold within 48 hours despite being more pricey than of any other match. According to the media reports, most of the buyers are Indian.

Cricket fans have a clear idea that it is rare to see the two arch rivals playing against each other as the Indian government doesn’t allow India’s cricket team to face Pakistan in any tournament except for international competitions.

However, it is not a battle of equals. Virat Kohli’s men in blue are a better team and in good form. India was the No.2 team in ICC’s one-day international rankings going into the World Cup while Pakistan were sixth on the list.

Even in the tournament, Sarfaraz Ahmed’s men in green have lost two matches, against West Indies and Australia, while Team India has won all its fixtures so far, and convincingly.

However, it’s unlikely to be a dead rubber as both teams tend to push themselves harder while playing each other. Further, Pakistan will take heart from their only win this tournament against England, which is ranked better than India.
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India, too, have been set back by the injury that ruled star opener Shikhar Dhawan from the tournament. But even as the rest of the team ups the ante, Kohli will hope that Pakistan’s 27-year old jinx continues.

India and Pakistan are going to face each other for the seventh time in a world cup tournament. It will be India’s fourth match in the tournament. Previously, the match between India and New Zealand on June 13 was abandoned without a single ball bowled because of heavy rainfall. Both the teams (India and Pakistan) scored one point each.


Previously, India and Pakistan have played six matches against each other and India has won them all. Sachin Tendulkar won the title of Player of the Match in three of the six matches played against Pakistan.

Ad prices are skyrocketing since India and Pakistan matches have always grabbed the attention of the audience. Currently, an advertisement during the India-Pak cricket match can reportedly cost as high as ₹200,000 for 10 seconds.

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Talking of the viewership, India-Pakistan match in the ICC World Cup 2015 is said to have as many as 288 million viewers. Over 93 brands got on board with Star Networks. The same match reportedly generated over ₹1 billion as advertising revenues.

Here’s a look at the cricket journey of India and Pakistan over the years:


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​1992 - India won by 43 runs.

​1992 - India won by 43 runs.

Player of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar

This was the first face-off between India and Pakistan in a World Cup meeting between India and Pakistan. The Indian Cricket team chose Ajay Jadeja over Ravi Shastri to become the opening batsman. The show was taken by Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. Tendulkar was unbeaten on 54 from 62 balls. Pakistan had a difficult start but was able to be in the game because of opener Aamir Sohail and Javed Miandad. India ended with 216/7.

Credits: India.com

​1996 - India won by 39 runs.

​1996 - India won by 39 runs.

Player of the Match: Navjot Singh Sidhu

It was neck to neck competition between the two neighbouring nations when the two met each other in the quarter-finals of the 1996 World Cup in Bangalore. Pakistan’s hope for winning the game was lost when it scored only 113/1 in the fifth over and had to chase India’s score at 287/8. Pakistan kept losing wickets, eventually losing the match by 39 runs.

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1999: India won by 47 runs

1999: India won by 47 runs

Player of the Match: Venkatesh Prasad

The two countries were engaged in the battle of Kargil when the cricket teams faced-off for the third time. The security was tightened. Pakistan was defeated for the third time and India won its third India-Pakistan match in World Cup history.

​2003 - India won by 6 wickets.

​2003 - India won by 6 wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar was named as the Player of the Match.

The 2003 between India and Pakistan is best known as remembered for Sachin Tendulkar’s knock of 98. Sachin Tendulkar hit a six over the third man boundary off the bowling of Shoaib Akhtar in the second over of the innings. India was chasing a target of 274. India won the match by six wickets with more than four overs to spare.

Credits: AFP

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​2011 - India won by 29 runs.

​2011 - India won by 29 runs.

Sachin Tendulkar was named as the Player of the Match.

India was hoping to win the World Cup for the second time. The team India scored only 260 for 9. However never got going, Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals to ultimately lose by 29 runs.

​2015 - India won by 76 runs.

​2015 - India won by 76 runs.

Nearly 41,000 cricket fans were waiting to see the battle between India and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval. Pakistan was chasing India’s final tally of 300/7 wickets. The match concluded with India being the winner of all the world cup matches it played against Pakistan.

Credits:PTI

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