India and Pakistan will clashes are very big and attention-seeking in ICC events. This is due to the lack of a bilateral series between the two sides due to political tensions.
In the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, India and Pakistan will clash on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Ground in New York. India leads the 6-1 in seven matches in the T20 World Cup, counting the bowl-out win in the 2007 edition.
India had notably not lost any World Cup match, whether it be the 50-over or T20 variant, to their arch-rivals until 2021, when Pakistan comprehensively broke that drought with a 10-wicket win in Dubai.
Shaheen Afridi struck early to remove KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma and then came back to dismiss Virat Kohli as India could only manage 151/7 in 20 overs. Captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan then ensured that Pakistan finished off the chase without losing a wicket.
Babar finished unbeaten on 68 off 52 while Rizwan was 79 not out in 55 balls.
Mohammad Rizwan revealed the words of then PCB chief Ramiz Raja to them ahead of the match against India.
“We had never beaten India before that (in a World Cup). Ramiz Raja met us and said, you have to beat India. There was a long time to go for the World Cup when he first came in (as PCB president) but he had started developing this thought in the team from right then," Rizwan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
"As we got closer to the World Cup he said, regardless of whether you win the trophy or not, just don't lose to India. He used to say don't come under pressure, and then would put pressure on us,” he added.
Rizwan played in his first ICC competition, the 2021 T20 World Cup, and so faced India for the first time. Rizwan confessed that he didn't realize the magnitude of the impact of the match's outcome until after it had occurred.
“India vs Pakistan always comes with pressure. People may not watch all matches in a tournament but this is a game everyone sits down to watch, regardless of which country they belong to. At the time we had Matthew Hayden with us. He put his arms around me and the captain and asked how we are feeling. The captain said that we have worked hard and now we leave it all in the hands of God," Rizwan said.
“For me, it was all a first, whether it be playing in a World Cup or such a big match. So I was feeling quite normal, I didn't think this was any different from any other match. But when we won, that is when I realized what we achieved. In Pakistan, say I go shopping somewhere, people won't take money. Then I stopped going out shopping because they just weren't taking money from us, they were all commending us for beating India. Everyone I met was commending us for the win. Once when I went to someone's room they had the match playing on television and said that they watch it every day,” he said.
