Twenty20 cricket is the most popular and thrilling format of the game. Minor mistakes on the part of any team can hugely benefit its opponents. It is mostly a game for young guns. The hit-and-run nature of this format demands a strike rate of much more than 100.

Cricket is by far the most popular sport in the sub-continent. No other form of entertainment creates as much excitement and enthusiasm in this part of the world as cricket does.

The T20 World Cup 2024 is being played in the United States of America and the West Indies and the match of the tournament between arch-rivals Pakistan and India is scheduled today at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. This encounter promises to be a battle of cricketing prowess.

In World Cup history, be it 50-overs or T20, only once have Pakistan beaten India. The win came in the T20 World Cup 2021 when Babar Azam’s men got the better of the Indian team in Dubai. India have won 7 times against Pakistan when it comes to T20 World Cups and lost just once while in the 50-over format, India are unbeaten on eight occasions.

People around the world have been waiting for the high-voltage game since the World Cup schedule was announced.

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. According to some reports it is expected to attract more than a billion viewers around the world.

In the ongoing World Cup, Pakistan is placed in group A with India, USA, Ireland and Canada. Both Pakistan and India will be desperate to start their World Cup campaign on a winning note. It will be a battle of skill, strategy, and nerves.

To win against India, Pakistan once again would likely depend on the performance of the opening pair and fast bowlers. A competitive total can provide a solid platform for their bowlers to attack experienced Indian batting.

Pakistan opening pairing of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan has provided the team stability. Both have been the pillars of Pakistan’s batting lineup for the last couple of years. They have been the most prolific opening pair in the international circuit in the shortest format of the game.

The duo was the hero when first time Pakistan thrashed India by 10 wickets in the 2021 World Cup and can again lead their team to victory.

Pakistan, under the captaincy of Babar Azam, will be aiming to prove their mettle after a mixed bag of performances in recent years. Their batting, led by the prolific Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, is capable of wreaking havoc on any bowling attack.

If the middle order provides support to openers - Babar and Rizwan - Pakistan will have a fair chance to beat India again.

The Indian batting looks stronger than Pakistan middle-order, but on the bowling side, the Men in Green have edge especially in the pace department with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Harif Rauf, Mohammad Amir and Naseem Shah.

On paper, Pakistan looks a balanced side, but as far as the performances are concerned, Greenshirts are not in good form. They have won just five of their thirteen completed T20Is this calendar year.

Their losses include going down at home against a severely weakened New Zealand side in April. They were also thrashed 4-1 by a full-strength New Zealand team in January. Pakistan also faced a shocking defeat to Ireland in Dublin last month.

Men in Blue will be confident to continue their performance against Pakistan in the ICC World Cups.

In Twenty20 Internationals, both teams have met twelve times, seven of these matches have taken place during T20 World Cups, including their meeting during the final of the 2007 competition, and three at the Asia Cup. A single two-match T20I series was played in India in 2012.

Pakistan and India met 8 times in T20 World Cup matches before today’s encounter. India have a clear edge with six wins while green shirts remained successful only once.

The first T20 World Cup was played in 2007 in South Africa. First meeting between Pakistan and India’s in the tournament ended in a tie when Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq was run out on the last ball when the scores were level in Durban on 14 September, 2007.

Mohammad Asif’s record 4-18 restricted India to 141-9, but Indian bowlers restricted Pakistani batsmen to meet the target.

The two arch-rivals met again in the final and again Greenshirts failed to chase the target of 157 and were bowled out in the last over on 152 runs and India became the first T20 Champion by winning by 5 runs.

The second T20 World Cup was played in Sri Lanka in 2012. Both teams met at R Premadasa Stadium on 30 September. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first, but the decision backfired when they were bowled out on just 128 in 19.4 overs. Shoaib Malik’s 28 runs were the best score of the innings.

India chased the target in 17 overs. Virat Kohli with 78 not out was declared the man-of-the-match.

India maintained the unbeaten run against Pakistan in the third T20 World Cup when they beat Greenshirts by seven wickets at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, on 21 March, 2014. Indian bowlers restricted Pakistani batsmen on 130-7. Umar Akmal with 33 runs was the highest scorer.

India chased the target in the 19th over for the loss of three wickets. Once again Virat Kohli (36 not out) made the chase easy for India.

The next T20 World Cup 2016 was held in India. In the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India again restricted Pakistan to 118-5 after winning the toss. Shoaib Malik (26) and Ahmed Shehzad (25) were the leading batsmen.

Virat Kohli was the hero with 55 not out. India easily chased the target in 15.5 overs.

The 2021 T20 World Cup was played for the first time in the UAE. Finally Pakistan broke the jinx and beat India for the first time in the ICC World Cup history. Pakistan put India into bat. Indian batsmen managed 151-7 in the allotted 20 overs. Non-stop Virat Kohli continued his form against Pakistan and scored 57 runs.

Openers Babar Azam (68) and Mohammad Rizwan (79) chased the target (152) in the 18th over and gave Pakistan a historic victory.

The last T20 World Cup was held in Australia in 2022. Pakistan had given a target of 160 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. India were reduced to 31-4 in no time. Indian batters were falling apart, except for Virat Kohli.

India needed 115 runs in their last 10 overs. Virat Kohli was 12 off 21 balls at one stage. He then scored 70 runs in the next 32 deliveries.

The equation came down to 31 of the last two overs and 28 runs in the last 8 balls, but Kohli hit two consecutive sixes off Haris Rauf; 16 runs were needed in the final over which was given to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz who failed to save the runs and at the end once again India managed to beat Pakistan by four wickets.

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