File photo of Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi's clash in 2007
The most anticipated match of World Cup 2019 - India vs Pakistan is all set to take place on 16th June in Manchester and the cricketing fraternity is eagerly waiting for the drama to unfold.
India vs Pakistan is not a normal match for any fan from both the nations as it is treated like a big event in every household. The stakes are high this time for both the teams due to the rise of political tension between the two countries.
Team India has never lost a match against Pakistan in a World Cup and its streak is still strong with 6-0 over the neighbours.
When players of both the teams enter the ground, the atmosphere changes for them as they have to leave the bonds with opposition players at the dressing room.
And in the past, players from both India and Pakistan have been involved in on-field fights and raised the intensity of the clash.
Here we take a look at some of the controversial moments from India-Pakistan encounters, on the cricket field.
1.Javed Miandad and Kiran More - Cricket World Cup, 1992
India and Pakistan met for the first time in a World Cup encounter in 1992 and the match, in all fairness, generated a huge sense of excitement across the world. Javed Miandad was batting at one end and the Indians were desperate to get him out and were appealing at every possible opportunity. After some time, Miandad got annoyed at India's wicketkeeper Kiran More's excessive appeals from behind the stumps and complained to the umpire. However, that didn't stop More and the other Indian players from appealing. Frustrated and agitated over the incident, Miandad came up with one of his own tricks and made three hilarious leaps to imitate a high-spirited More.
2. Aamir Sohail and Venkatesh Prasad - Cricket World Cup, 1996
This incident between India pacer Venkatesh Prasad and Pakistan batsman Aamir Sohail is a part of cricketing folklore. During the quarter-final of the 1996 World Cup in Bangalore, Prasad's animated send-off to Sohail remains of the biggest memories from an India-Pakistan encounter. Pakistan were solid at 113/1 and Sohail looked certain to take the game away from India. After hitting a boundary off Prasad on the off-side, Sohail walked up to the Indian fast bowler and pointed to the boundary, showing him where he belonged. However, Prasad replied to Sohail in the best possible - by uprooting his stumps with a beauty in the next ball. Not just that, an animated Prasad then gave Sohail a send-off by pointing towards the stands.
3. Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi - Pakistan's tour of India, 2007
In of the biggest on-field fights in an India-Pakistan encounter, Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi got into a nasty verbal altercation in Kanpur. During the third ODI of Pakistan's tour of India in 2007, Gambhir hit a boundary off Afridi and uttered a few words. In the same over, Gambhir collided with Afridi while taking a quick single. Following the collision, a fierce verbal duel broke out between Gambhir and Afridi and eventually the umpires had to intervene to separate the two. Afridi was fined 95 per cent of his match fee while Gambhir got away with 65 per cent.
4. Gautam Gambhir vs Kamran Akmal - Asia Cup 2010
India vs Pakistan is the most anticipated match in the Asian sub-continent as the political tension between the two nations amplifies the high voltage drama among the fans. It was the fourth match of the Asia Cup 2010 when the Indian opener had a heated argument with Pakistan's wicketkeeper while India were chasing the target of 268 runs. The Men in Blue were two wickets down, needing 101 runs in 97 balls and Gambhir missed a delivery from Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal and wicketkeeper Akmal shouted for an appeal which was referred to the third umpire by the on-field umpire. Eventually, the Delhi boy was declared not out. During the drinks break a hot-headed Gambhir walked up to Akmal and argued with him regarding the appeal. The argument got heated until umpire Billy Bowden and Dhoni intervened to stop the scuffle.
5. Harbhajan Singh vs Shoaib Akhtar - Asia Cup 2010
The same match witnessed the clash between friends Harbhajan and Akhtar during the business end of the game. It was a tight match and both teams had an equal chance of stealing the victory. When Akhtar came on to bowl the 47th over and Turbonator hit him for a massive six, it didn't go down well with the Rawalpindi Express. On the last ball of 49th over Akhtar bowled a bouncer to the Indian off-spinner after which they both indulged in a war of words while the drama continued in the last over. With India needing 2 runs off 3 balls and Mohammad Amir bowling the match-deciding over Harbhajan had the last laugh as he swung his bat in full flow to send the ball and rivals Pakistan out of the tournament.
