New Delhi: The long wait is about to come to an end as we are just four days away from the much-awaited India-Pakistan clash which is scheduled to take place at Adelaide. This will be the sixth time when both the teams will face each other in World Cup.
All their previous five battles have been nail biters and this time also it is expected to be the same especially when MS Dhoni and Misbah-ul-Haq step into the ground for toss.
While odds are heavily staked in favour of the defending champions, Pakistan is expected to bring its best against Indians. The match at Adelaide is expected to be the most-watched match in the history of cricket.
With a lot riding on the players from both sides, here are 10 things you need to know about India vs Pakistan in the history of world cup encounters:
1) India has won just 50 out of 126 One-Day Internationals (ODI) played against Pakistan (with four matches ending in No Result). Yet, they are yet to lose a single World Cup match against the arch-rivals. India has registered wins in all the five matches played at the World Cup so far – in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2011.
2) Sachin Tendulkar has been a part of all the five World Cup matches played between India and Pakistan, winning the Man of the Match award on three occasions (1992, 2003 and 2011).However, he has never hit a century against them in a World Cup match. His highest score had been 98 in 2003 at Centurion.
3) Saeed Anwar is the only player to have hit a century in an India-Pakistan World Cup match. His knock of 101 also came in 2003 at Centurion. His 126-ball knock included seven boundaries. Pakistan lost the match by six wickets. He was Pakistan's best batsman without ever having won the World Cup.
4) Venkatesh Prasad and Wahab Riaz are the only bowlers to have taken a five-wicket haul in an India-Pakistan World Cup match. While Venkatesh Prasad bagged five for 27 at Manchester in 1999, Wahab Riaz achieved the feat at Mohali in 2011. However, Wahab Riaz's effort came in a losing cause.
5) Shahid Afridi has played in three India-Pakistan World Cup matches, maximum by any player in the two squads which will play at Adelaide. He has scored 34 runs (Ave 11.33) and bagged just one wicket in three matches. His performance has been below par in these high-intensity matches.
