My most memorable India vs Pakistan matches are as follows:
1992 Sydney – I didn’t watch this match live since I was an infant back then, but I later watched it on YouTube. Sachin Tendulkar’s innings, the infamous Kiran More vs. Javed Miandad altercation, and Javagal Srinath’s yorker to Miandad were the standout moments.
1996 Bangalore – I barely remember watching this live as a very young boy. Wasim Akram’s absence in the morning became big news. Then came Ajay Jadeja’s blitz with Tony Greig’s legendary commentary, followed by the heated exchange between Aamir Sohail and Venkatesh Prasad.
1999 Manchester – India was already out of the tournament by then, and beating Pakistan was the only saving grace. Tendulkar charging down Wasim Akram in the very first over, in swinging conditions, was a statement of confidence. He was going well before playing a mindless shot to get out—still hurts. I remember a dropped catch off Debashish Mohanty’s bowling, Azharuddin taking some brilliant catches in the slips, and the prized wicket of Moin Khan. Once Moin got out, I knew we were winning. We then went out and burst firecrackers to rub it in the faces of the Jaychands in our mohalla who used to support Pakistan.
2003 Centurion – Ah, where do I even start? So many memories. Due to a power cut, I couldn’t watch the toss live, and my cousin called our landline to tell me Pakistan was batting. Saeed Anwar played a masterful knock, giving me flashbacks of those 90s Sharjah matches. But then I reminded myself—this was the new India under Sourav Ganguly. Zaheer Khan flooring Rashid Latif with a bouncer was the statement. For me that was the turning point and kind of passing the baton moment in Ind Pak rivalry. That bouncer shifted the mindset which started by that Miandad six. Nevertheless, going back into the match, a good late flourish by Wasim Akram, and then that knock by Tendulkar. His first cover drive off Wasim, the crisp sound of the bat—ufff! And then, those boundaries and six off Shoaib Akhtar in the next over—uffffff! Another power cut struck, and when the power came back, India was 2 down with Ganguly gone first ball. But this was the new India remember? So no panic. Along with Sachin, Kaif, Dravid and Yuvraj ensured victory. Post-match, Sachin revealed how he had been waiting for this game for years. Once again, we went out to rub it in the faces of the Bihari Jaychands in my neighbourhood.
2007 Durban – What even is this format? A bowl-out? Ah, this felt good when the likes of Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, and Shahid Afridi missed the stumps, while Sehwag, Harbhajan, and Uthappa hit the timber. MS Dhoni completely outsmarted Pakistan.
2007 Johannesburg – Who is this opener, Yusuf Pathan? Smashing Mohammad Asif for a six first ball? Must be good. Imran Nazir was taking the game away, but India made a stunning comeback. Then came the introduction of Misbah-ul-Haq and that scoop shot. This game gave birth to the IPL.
2011 Mohali – The greatest Indo-Pak match of all time. This game had a build up of 5 days when the only thing news channels were talking about was this match. I still remember our HR emailing us to spend a few hours in the office before we could watch the game on big screens in the cafeteria. What a start by Sehwag! Saeed Ajmal was doing crazy things with the ball, and how lucky was Sachin with four dropped chances? Brilliant Raina at the end, a terrible shot by Hafeez, an awful innings from Misbah, Munaf Patel’s dream delivery to Razzaq, and finally, that last catch by Kohli. Feels like yesterday.
2012 Colombo – By this time, I had moved to the UK and was looking for a cricket discussion forum. That’s how I discovered this platform, initially as a lurker. I remember this match for Balaji's bowling and, of course, Kohli, who came in after that monstrous 183 a month prior.
2013 Edgbaston – Indian fans were only thinking about Junaid Khan and getting revenge for the
Aane Do series. In the end, it was a boring one-sided win for India, with Dhawan charging down and smacking Junaid all over the park.
2014 Dhaka – By this time, Kohli had already established his dominance over Pakistan. However, India came into this match after losing to Pakistan in the Asia Cup, where Afridi smashed two sixes off Ashwin. This time, though, India was at full strength, with Dhoni and MVP Raina back. A one-sided victory for India—or rather, Kohli single-handedly beating Pakistan. The only highlight for Pakistan was Bilawal Bhatti dismissing Yuvraj Singh first ball.
2015 Adelaide – I was a forum member by then
, and
Break the Streak was the slogan here, amplified by the
Mauka Mauka ad. Then came Sohail Khan’s “Ghar ka Kohli” comment. The hype was surreal. Kohli’s century was scratchy but effective, with Raina providing momentum. Younis Khan opening the batting and getting bounced out by Shami in the first over set the tone. Umesh Yadav getting back to back wickets of Sehzad and Maqsood. Afridi slogging mindlessly as usual and Misbah tried to do only as much. Sohail Khan tried to pick a silly fight with Kohli but Misbah scolded him and asked him to focus on the game. Pakistan never looked in the game—it was no contest.
2016 Kolkata – A rain-shortened 18-over contest, but as expected, no real competition. Mohammad Amir dismissing Rohit Sharma early and Shami getting Raina for a golden duck was Pakistan’s only moment. But once again, Kohli took the game away single-handedly.
2019 Manchester – Again, no contest. Rohit Sharma smashing Pakistan all over, Kohli doing his thing, and Hardik Pandya causing havoc with the ball. This game will always be remembered for the
"Ekdum se waqt badal diye, jazbaat badal diye" meme.
2022 MCG – One of the best T20 matches ever. This was during that brief period, starting in October 2021, when Pakistan was on par or slightly ahead of India in T20s. Even in this game, Pakistan was winning until the 17th over of the second innings. Then
those two Kohli sixes changed everything. What a knock. What a game.
2023 Ahmedabad – From the start, the crowd was in full WWE
Attitude Era mode, booing Pakistan. As expected, it was one-sided, but the hostile atmosphere made it even more memorable.
2024 New York – The least-watched India vs. Pakistan game in India due to the general elections. However, this game was all about Bumrah and how he single-handedly defended 120 runs. Imad Wasim’s knock and his running between the wickets looked
fishy at times.
2025 Dubai – Hahaha! This game will always be remembered for
battles off the ground—the hybrid model and PCB’s stance on not bowing down to money. The match itself was as one-sided as expected, with Pakistan never in the contest. Kohli’s century, even at this stage of his career, was a breath of fresh air.
Rajdeep.
@Devadwal @Mesozoic @deltexas @Local.Dada @Bhaijaan @hoshiarpurexpress @Hitman @jnaveen1980
Response will be more
. One more memorable game for me apart from the ones Rajdeep listed is the independence cup final vs Pakistan in 1998 where India made a world record chase (for that time) 300+. In those days team batting first got 300 means game over 9/10 times. That too India was still a middling team and didn’t score 300 often till that point.