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Is this the biggest India - Pakistan game there has ever been?

Varun

Varun

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Short of a World Cup final meet between these two, we have to take this clash at the Champion's Trophy as the biggest affair of them all.

(Apologies to the World T20 2007 Final, that format is a rung below ODIs)

What does this mean for Pakistan? That they can avenge all of the other losses against India over the years through a win here. While they have beaten us in Champions Trophy before, the significance of this game is bigger than any group game of years past.
 
Nope, biggest was the 2011 semis.

If Pakistan wins this then we will see a new generation of great talent coming out of Pakistan.
 
2011 WC semi was the suggest then the T 20 final at joburg this is third biggest.
 
2011 semis was much bigger,also considering it was played in Mohali!
 
2011 semifinal and 2007 t20 final were much bigger.

but it willbe sweet when we win this. Will somewhat avenge some of those heartbreaks.
 
2011 both teams were equally good but we had Misbah to gift India an easy win without showing any fight. If he had shown some heart the game would have gone till the end. Biggest mistake by PCB to leave out Malik for a world cup held in Asia. Malik would have been gold on these spin friendly pitches.
 
this time pakistani team looks much stronger and confident than any other previous encounters

and would say it would be first time pak beating india and lifting ICC trophy in its entire history of defeats against india

i would say that pakistan has never come close to defeat india and life trophy simultaneously, it looks bloody close today
 
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if Pakistan does win then it will certainly help to break mental block against India.
 
For me, it was 1996 Quarter Finals at Bengaluru.

World cup getting televised by private channels in subcontinent for the first time, defending Champs Pak with some serious talents in their prime (Waqar, Anwar, Aamir for example) form, a day-nighter (always loved the game played in the evenings), last minute change of Pak captaincy (Wasim withdrew form the eleven citing injury), a scratchy road to Quarter finals for India. It had everything that made the game super awesome (at least for me as a 14 years old boy). The match itself was a pulsating battle (India's late order heroics or Pak opener's blitzkrieg in the first 15 overs). Still have vivid/fond memories of that game.

I doubt any India-Pak game could ever come closer to that for me, personally

(JMHO)
 
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captain crook said:
No. 2011 was.
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No. 1999 was.

Sure, it was a Super-6 match and the result was more or less inconsenquential. But it took place in a particularly hostile period with the Kargil crap going on in the backdrop. Also, Pak had the likes of Wasim, Waqar, Razzaq, Inzamam, Akhtar, Moin Khan etc. On second thought, I can't recall if all of them were in the squad, but the point is it was a much stornger team overall.

In terms of team-strength, both were probably more or less equal in 2003.
 
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2nd biggest after 2011.

Back the rivalry was still red hot.

It's lost its charm a bit these days but that's why a Pak win is so important!

Pakistan needs this win more than India, so please surrender and let us win. Don't force us.
 
Suleiman said:
It's lost its charm a bit these days but that's why a Pak win is so important!

Pakistan needs this win more than India, so please surrender and let us win. Don't force us.
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What's the point if India (fictionally) surrender and Pakistan don't win on merit? If anything that will do far worse for Pakistan.
 
2011 was the biggest . The rivalry hadn't fizzled, India was still craving for a rare tournament success (2007 was an anomaly), we were never the cool collected team as we are now. Pakistan had a huge chance on India pitches, they had a very strong team too.

2007 was never taken seriously, untill India won that is :D.

I'd put this a couple of levels low.
 
Varun said:
What's the point if India (fictionally) surrender and Pakistan don't win on merit? If anything that will do far worse for Pakistan.
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I don't even care how we win it anymore, we're so deprived of a win vs India in ICC tournaments, I'll take them however they come.
 
I reckon it comes second after 2011 WC semi finals, but will be one of the biggest matches I've ever seen, it's amazing for this match to be happening at the final!

The group match I gave us no chance vs India, this time I'm expecting a show. Can we do it? We might actually be able to win. Toss will be crucial for both teams.
 
1985 B & H in australia, 1996 QF, 2007 t20 final, 2011 semis, all of these were way, way bigger than the sunday clash, not even close
 
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In ODIs, I'd say only 2011 WC SF (AINEC) and 1996 QF rank higher.

In T20s, the 2007 T20 Final is arguably the biggest game played in the format let alone between these two teams.

I would place this game at #3 in the list of Indo-Pak ODI matches. It's a massive game and the only reason it's being downplayed has to do with India's record against PAK in recent times. If the squads had split a few games, this wouldn't even be argued.
 
South Africa 2003 World Cup was the biggest game.
This one, I have to admit, has almost come out of nowhere unexpectdly. But I can sense the hype machine in over-drive (Much more social media now) so come Friday it will amped to the max. The teams (I am looking at you pakistan) owe it to the fans to deliver a contest.
 
2011 Semis
2007 T20 Finals
1996 Quarter Finals
.
.
.
Then the current Champions Trophy Finals.
 
Pete Rose said:
South Africa 2003 World Cup was the biggest game.
This one, I have to admit, has almost come out of nowhere unexpectdly. But I can sense the hype machine in over-drive (Much more social media now) so come Friday it will amped to the max. The teams (I am looking at you pakistan) owe it to the fans to deliver a contest.
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2003 WC Game didn't have too much riding on it, means it wasn't a knock out or something but a big big match for sure considering the hype, rivalry and quality of the two teams.
 
czar said:
2003 WC Game didn't have too much riding on it, means it wasn't a knock out or something but a big big match for sure considering the hype, rivalry and quality of the two teams.
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South Africa game because those were two very very strong teams. 2011 pakistan was a pretty mediocre team.
 
In context this game is huge for Pakistan and its future of cricket. Cricket has been dying in Pakistan and we needed a good performance in an ICC trophy to get the interest back.

As a game though 1996 was the biggest game for me personally. We were one of the best in the tournament. Our best opening pair, 2 Ws, saqlain, Mushtaq ahmed, inzi and Javed Miandads last tournament. Even with Wasim injured we should have won that game. Being in subcontinent and final in Lahore everything was in place for us to win that tournament and it is a very bitter memory.

Teams were most evenly matched in 2003 but Pakistan was an ageing but it wasn't a knockout so it did not have that type of pressure.
 
proud_pakistani said:
In context this game is huge for Pakistan and its future of cricket. Cricket has been dying in Pakistan and we needed a good performance in an ICC trophy to get the interest back.
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Well they've made the final. That should revitalize enough interest in the game.

Anyway, Pakistan isn't New Zealand. Cricket won't die there.
 
proud_pakistani said:
In context this game is huge for Pakistan and its future of cricket. Cricket has been dying in Pakistan and we needed a good performance in an ICC trophy to get the interest back.

As a game though 1996 was the biggest game for me personally. We were one of the best in the tournament. Our best opening pair, 2 Ws, saqlain, Mushtaq ahmed, inzi and Javed Miandads last tournament. Even with Wasim injured we should have won that game. Being in subcontinent and final in Lahore everything was in place for us to win that tournament and it is a very bitter memory.

Teams were most evenly matched in 2003 but Pakistan was an ageing but it wasn't a knockout so it did not have that type of pressure.
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It was a knockout match for Pakistan :srini
 
Bangalore 96 and Mohali 2011 were bigger. It is on par with the World T20 2007 Final.
 
kingusama92 said:
In ODIs, I'd say only 2011 WC SF (AINEC) and 1996 QF rank higher.

In T20s, the 2007 T20 Final is arguably the biggest game played in the format let alone between these two teams.

I would place this game at #3 in the list of Indo-Pak ODI matches. It's a massive game and the only reason it's being downplayed has to do with India's record against PAK in recent times. If the squads had split a few games, this wouldn't even be argued.
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Lols, 1996 QF, I assume you were around 4 back then? Great memory and understanding of the game at that age lol.
 
Suleiman said:
I don't even care how we win it anymore, we're so deprived of a win vs India in ICC tournaments, I'll take them however they come.
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Lolz!

To be honest, a lot of Indians dont even care about this final. For me, I might not even watch it. Nobody in the office was even talking about it.
 
The 99 Pakistani team indeed was super strong. Although for me, the 2003 win against Pakistan was defining. The way Sachin deflated Akhtar and then Yuvi handled Akram, it was legendary stuff. Ofcourse, the teams were almost evenly matched, with India being a couple of notches above Pakistan in terms of quality of players.
 
In my memory, the 96 QF still the 'biggest' Ind-Pak match. I don't think 99 WC match was that intense, at least in India.
 
Pakpak said:
Nope, England knocked us out the next game.
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How did England manage to do that :yk2 when you played against England before the India-Pakistan match? I remember that world cup like yesterday, India vs Pakistan was a do or die game of Pakistan and it was a knockout game for you guys :srini
 
ToeCrusher2 said:
How did England manage to do that :yk2 when you played against England before the India-Pakistan match? I remember that world cup like yesterday, India vs Pakistan was a do or die game of Pakistan and it was a knockout game for you guys :srini
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Not as per this video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/onYblUXJnHs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Varun said:
Not as per this video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/onYblUXJnHs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

They were all but knocked out, they had to win the game against India to remain alive, they had an outside chance based on beating zimbabwe with a huge margin and hope england lose by big margin or something, it was over for pak for all practical purposes
 
We say that every India/Pak encounter lol We also opened a thread "Do India Pakistan contests become academic"
 
Pakpak said:
Nope, England knocked us out the next game.
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Nope ... the Centurion match was Pakistan's 2nd last match and a must win match otherwise they would have had to beat Zimbabwe in the last match with a huge margin. As it turned out the last match was washed out.
 
I know that the discussion on this thread has been about ODI games between India and Pakistan , but still as the topic says " biggest Pakistan game " ever ...well it could still turn out to be on Sunday ..we never know...

But to me , the biggest and the best cricket match between India and Pakistan was the 1999 Test match in Chennai. I watched the entire test match , 4 days , and after a heartbreaking 16 run loss in a test that swung like a pendulum, the Chepauk crowd of around 40,000 spectators rose and gave a standing ovation to Wasim and his men .
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HjfWrCpnnig

I'm sure all of you would have seen this at least once ...but still ..

In ODI games the most thrilling was the Australasia cup in Sharjah ..way back in the mid 1980s ..with Miandad hitting that last ball sixer to win the game for India.

By the way ...India is winning on Sunday ...and in a canter :11::)
 
Nah, WOrld Cup 2011 Semi FInal was the one. I couldn't sleep before the match. If we lose this one, it would be another day loss. It will suck but nothing like losing WC. At end of the day, people don't even remember WI won in 2006 or so but WC everyone knows by finger points.
 
I couldn't get the right link above I think ..
Anyways ppl here would have seen it
 
H_Sam said:
In ODI games the most thrilling was the Australasia cup in Sharjah ..way back in the mid 1980s ..with Miandad hitting that last ball sixer to win the game for India.

By the way ...India is winning on Sunday ...and in a canter :11::)
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Winning the game for Pakistan I mean ....sorry ..force of habit ..associating a win with India &#55357;&#56832;
 
Mohali was a massive game ...so was the WC in 2003 ..but in terms of being close into the last over or 5 min ..both the above wins were fairly comfortable for India. That way the 2007 T20 finals was closest and biggest
 
Mohali was a massive game ...so was the WC in 2003 ..but in terms of being close into the last over or 5 min ..both the above wins were fairly comfortable for India. That way the 2007 T20 finals was closest and biggest
 
How can a semi final game be more important then a final? :facepalm:
 
ToeCrusher2 said:
How did England manage to do that :yk2 when you played against England before the India-Pakistan match? I remember that world cup like yesterday, India vs Pakistan was a do or die game of Pakistan and it was a knockout game for you guys :srini
Click to expand...

Varun said:
Not as per this video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/onYblUXJnHs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

Wow Indians jumping on me! My bad. Maafi de doh!
 
Yes ...obviously a sf is no comparison to any finals ...but we can only play you in the finals ..if you get there &#55357;&#56841; since you guys haven't kept the appointment for finals ..in 2003, 2011, or 2015 WC ..maybe stuck in traffic somewhere...we had to go ahead and play Aus or SL or whoever else was available . So in that context ..sf can be considered big ..for both of us &#55357;&#56832;
 
Mohali bigger...2004 bi-laterals more anticpated. Even 2003.

For me personally though, '99 at Old Trafford was the biggest. Was young, and my first Indo-Pak game at a stadium. Atmosphere was hostile. Both sets of fans wanted the win badly (not sure about one set of players though).

Nowadays with social media, and tv being the way it is...a lot of the hype seems over the top and artificial. Back then, it was somehow more real.
 
CT wasn't even considered as a massive event until India won it in 2013...Not many remember Who win it in 2009 2006 ... everyone remembers the WC...CT is more or less like Confederations Cup..any match in a WC is bigger
 
If Pakistan win this match, it will be 1986 all over again, start of new reign for us. 1996 win changed the mindset of Pakistani Odi team.

This tournament has showed fans and maybe this time PCB, the importance of youth. I can see core of Misbah culture is already changing, that is a win for Pakistan Cricket!!
 
For me this is biggest match of my life. 2011 is up there too uptil now 2011 semifinal was biggest one but since this one is final this is bigger than 2011.
#no mercy
 
If WC alone is what is important , well , everyone knows that Pakistan has been beaten by India in every single encounter in WCs ..it's a 100% record ...whether or not India won the WC ...or even when Pakistan won the WC in 1992 or even the T 20 wc ...Indian stranglehold on Pakistan has been there since day one ...in addition to that even in other ICC and multi nation tournaments ( 6 or 7 nations etc) India has been ruling Pakistan ..and this is not merely last 10 years ...it's since WC came into existence ..since the days of Asif Iqbal, Imran Khan, Javed , Wasim , Inzy etc
 
1. 2011 WC semi-final
2. 2017 Champions Trophy Final (tempted to put it at no.1)
3. 2003 WC group game
4. 2007 World T20 final
5. 1996 World Cup QF
 
WC clashes are bigger if they are in the knockout stages. Nothing has come close to the 1996 QF in India because that was between two fiercely matched teams. Pakistan was probably favourite if Wasim Akram had played.

This is pretty big though because it is a final and because Pakistan is showing signs of the old tiger re-emerging. Just a shame the batting might still be a let down as that is where the difference in quality still lies. But Pakistan's bowling looks better.
 
2011 WC

the build up and the political situation at the time was epic
 
JaDed said:
2011 semis was much bigger,also considering it was played in Mohali!
Click to expand...

No this is the biggest in terms of crowd support, both teams will have very good support here... In 2011 it was heavily biased in favor of india
 
waleed88 said:
No this is the biggest in terms of crowd support, both teams will have very good support here... In 2011 it was heavily biased in favor of india
Click to expand...

Pakistanis had a very decent support in mohali too, I know because I was in the same stand as the Pakistani supporters, they were singing "munni badnam hui" :yk to us during the mid innings break , too bad their enthusiasm didn't last much long when pakistan innings started :srini
 
avidlearner said:
For me, it was 1996 Quarter Finals at Bengaluru.

World cup getting televised by private channels in subcontinent for the first time, defending Champs Pak with some serious talents in their prime (Waqar, Anwar, Aamir for example) form, a day-nighter (always loved the game played in the evenings), last minute change of Pak captaincy (Wasim withdrew form the eleven citing injury), a scratchy road to Quarter finals for India. It had everything that made the game super awesome (at least for me as a 14 years old boy). The match itself was a pulsating battle (India's late order heroics or Pak opener's blitzkrieg in the first 15 overs). Still have vivid/fond memories of that game.

I doubt any India-Pak game could ever come closer to that for me, personally

(JMHO)
Click to expand...

proud_pakistani said:
In context this game is huge for Pakistan and its future of cricket. Cricket has been dying in Pakistan and we needed a good performance in an ICC trophy to get the interest back.

As a game though 1996 was the biggest game for me personally. We were one of the best in the tournament. Our best opening pair, 2 Ws, saqlain, Mushtaq ahmed, inzi and Javed Miandads last tournament. Even with Wasim injured we should have won that game. Being in subcontinent and final in Lahore everything was in place for us to win that tournament and it is a very bitter memory.

Teams were most evenly matched in 2003 but Pakistan was an ageing but it wasn't a knockout so it did not have that type of pressure.
Click to expand...

I'm still amazed at how Pakistan lost the 1996 QF. That 96 team was complete, moreso than the much more heralded 99 side. There was a real gulf between the two sides but India handled the pressure better.

Waqar choked big time, continually missing his yorker length as Jadeja smashed him to all parts of the ground. To make matters worse we had one less over to chase the score due to slow over rate.

Despite that, Anwar and Sohail got us off to a lightning start. We were 84-1 after 10 overs and 113-2 after 15 - we don't make such starts even in T20s nowadays that's how ferocious that top order start was ! I still remember the hushed silence and sound of a handful of claps as our openers made that start.

Then Sohail got stupid and the middle order imploded though there was some late resistance from Miandad (who got criticised for tuk tuk) and Latif.

The atmosphere was electric in Bangalore and I remember the banter in school. Still have a bitter taste from that defeat.
 
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ToeCrusher2 said:
Pakistanis had a very decent support in mohali too, I know because I was in the same stand as the Pakistani supporters, they were singing "munni badnam hui" :yk to us during the mid innings break , too bad their enthusiasm didn't last much long when pakistan innings started :srini
Click to expand...

Oh comeon, even in soccer there is a thing called a neutral venue, and then there is home venue and away venue... India was definitely away venue for us in 2011, you won't see Amir Khan supporting his team like that with Indian flags raising all round the ground in the Karachi stadium...

And about the Pakistani support, there was pin drop silence when Wahab got Yuvraj out for a duck, if there was support the stadium didn't sound too supportive

England is about the closest thing to home conditions for us after UAE if I'm not wrong..
 
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waleed88 said:
Oh comeon, even in soccer there is a thing called a neutral venue, and then there is home venue and away venue... India was definitely away venue for us in 2011, you won't see Amir Khan supporting his team like that with Indian flags raising all round the ground in the Karachi stadium...

And about the Pakistani support, there was pin drop silence when Wahab got Yuvraj out for a duck, if there was support the stadium didn't sound too supportive

England is about the closest thing to home conditions for us after UAE if I'm not wrong..
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Who said anything about Mohali being a neutral venue? :yk2 I just said there were quite a few pakistanis in the stand I was in , it was a fun experience :srini
 
Been watching India-Pak encounters since 1992 WC.

I say 1996 QF at Bangalore was the best ever. The atmosphere was electric and the intensity was out of this world.
 
main-qimg-7850e390c23d90fd6f89350aefa62161-c.jpg
Biggest ever was Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket 1985 Final.
First time the traditional rivals met in the final of a world tournament.
Game on Sunday will be second after that.
 
ToeCrusher2 said:
1985 B & H in australia, 1996 QF, 2007 t20 final, 2011 semis, all of these were way, way bigger than the sunday clash, not even close
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This.

Pak batting were competent enough in all those encounters..now its all on bowlers shoulders.
 
Amjid Javed said:
How can a semi final game be more important then a final? :facepalm:
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Because it would have meant Pakistan reaching the finals in India, knocking us out of our home ground, it would have made a bold statement.

World cup knockout > champions trophy knockout any day of the week bro
 
Rana said:
2011 WC

the build up and the political situation at the time was epic
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Buildup may be...yes ...but the political situation in 1999 was far more tense ..both nations had 1.3 million troops eyeballing each other across the border and on verge of an armed conflict , which eventually happened. There were hundreds of riot police in combat gear stationed in Manchester
 
The 2011 WC had politicians , actors and everyone prominent thronging in to watch it.

I haven't watched any sporting event, forget a cricket match, that has matched the hype since.

I doubt anything will ever come close.
 
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