Even the legendary Ashes series between England and Australia pales into relative insignificance when viewed against the Pakistan-India rivalry on the cricket field. These contests are greeted by packed cricket grounds wherever they meet and viewed by millions more riveted to TV screens in every continent.

The ensuing elation or heartache following each success or failure is both visceral and vocal and voiced at every level and in each segment of both societies. It is truly an event that brings the nation together like little else; it’s heroes receive adulation reserved for the exalted and its losers are readily castigated as felons.

The Pakistani Perspective

Tests and Series Played

The two teams have played 59 Test matches between them, of which Pakistan has won 12 and India 9. Of the 15 series contested by them Pakistan and India have won 4 each. Additionally, the two sides also met in a solitary Test for the Asia Cup, in which Pakistan emerged triumphant. The last series played between the two rivals was a three Test series in India in 2007/08

Highest Totals

Pakistan has totaled over 600 runs in an innings on four occasions in home Tests against India. The two top scores were both recorded in Lahore, namely 699/5 in December 1989 and 679/7 declared in January 2006.

In Tests played in India, Pakistan has twice scored over 500 runs in an innings. Bengaluru was the venue on both occasions as Pakistan amassed 570 in March 2005 and 537 in December 2007.

Lowest Total

Interestingly Pakistan’s lowest recorded score against India is also at Bengaluru, when the they were dismissed for 116 in March 1987.

Pakistan’s Largest Victories

Pakistan’s biggest victories against India, by an innings, by runs, or by wickets are the following :

By an innings & 119 runs at Hyderabad (Pk) in January 1983

By 341 runs at Karachi in January 2006

By 10 wickets at Faisalabad in January 1983.

Pakistan’s Narrowest Victories

Pakistan has had a few very close wins over India. The tightest was the 1st Test at Chennai in January 1999, when needing 271 to win, India were comfortably placed at 254/6, with Tendulkar batting on 136. A dramatic spell of 3 wickets by Saqlain Mushtaq led to a mini Indian collapse as 4 wickets fell for just 4 runs and Pakistan were victorious by the thin margin of 12 runs.

Earlier, in Bengaluru, in 1987, Pakistan had prevailed by just 16 runs, when India failed in a run chase of 221 runs, being spun out by the Pakistani duet of Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Qasim, despite a dogged innings of 96 by Gavaskar.

Most Tests by a Player

Javed Miandad 28 Tests

Imran Khan 23 Tests

Saleem Malik 22 Tests

Three Pakistani cricketers have played more than 20 Tests against India, headed by Miandad with 28 appearances.

Most Matches as Captain

Imran Khan 15

Abdul Hafeez Kardar 10

Inzamam-ul-Haq 8

Imran Khan has captained Pakistan most frequently against India, doing so in 15 Tests, while Kardar was the Pakistani test captain in the two initial Test series of five matches each.

Six Pakistani batsmen have scored over 1000 runs versus India, with Miandad being the only one to cross 2000. Zaheer Abbas and Mudassar Nazar share the record for most centuries with six each.

Highest Score

Pakistani batsmen have scored seven double centuries against India, with two of them by Zaheer Abbas. Miandad’s 280 not out in Hyderabad (Pakistan) in 1983, remains he highest individual score by a Pakistani batsman against India in Test matches. Younis Khan’s 267 at Bengaluru in 2005 is the next highest and Younis also has two other scores of over 190, including 199 at Lahore in 2006. Mudassar also has a score of 199 against his name made at Faisalabad in 1984, in addition to his highest of 231 at Hyderabad (Pakistan) in 1983. The remaining two double centuries were scored by Qasim Umar and Shoaib Mohammad.

Most Runs in a Series

On six occasions, Pakistani batsmen have tallied more than 500 hundred runs in a series. Five of these occasions have been in a home series, while only Younis Khan managed to do so on Indian soil. Younis, along with Zaheer, has also achieved this feat twice.

Bowlers With Most Wickets

Imran is head and shoulders above all other Pakistani bowlers in this list.

Bowlers With the Best Strike Rates

This is an interesting list with some surprises.

Most Wickets in a Series

Five Pakistani bowlers have managed to take over 20 wickets in a series. Surprisingly on only two bowlers have achieved this in a home series, while three obtained this distinction while playing in India. Imran’s 40 wickets in the 1982/83 series towers above all other performances, but unfortunately led to a stress fracture of his tibia at the height of his bowling career.

Wicket Keepers With Most Dismissals

Wasim Bari heads this list with 55 dismissals in 18 matches. He is followed by Kaman Akmal whose tally is 41 dismissals from 11 Tests and then Imtiaz Ahmed who snared 22 victims in 15 games.

Kamran Akmal has the highest dismissal rate with 2.050 dismissals per innings with Wasim Bari next at 1.718 victims in each innings.

Most Wicketkeeping Dismissals in a Match

This honour again goes to the legendary Wasim Bari who had 7 dismissals, including 6 catches and a stumping, against India at Mumbai in 1979. Kamran Akmal reached the figure of 6 dismissals in a match on 3 occasions between 2004 and 2006.

Most Wicketkeeping Dismissals in a Series

On two occasions a Pakistani wicket keeper has recorded more than 15 dismissals in a series against India. In both instances the wicket keeper was Wasim Bari, with 17 dismissals in the 1982/83 series and 16 in the series played in 1979/80.

Fielding Records

The record for most catches by a Pakistani player against India is shared by Iqbal Qasim and Javed Miandad, with 18 catches each. When in comes to most catches in a match the record is shared between Imran Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Ijaz Ahmed and Younis Khan, who’ve all taken 4 catches in a match. The record for most catches by a fielder in a series belongs to Javed Miandad for his 8 catches in the 1979/80 series.

Partnerships

There have been six Pakistani partnerships of 250 runs and above, in test matches versus India.

The 451 run partnership between Mudassar and Miandad was a world record third wicket partnership at the time.

Miscellaneous

Three Pakistani test cricketers have also represented India in Test cricket. Kardar and Amir Elahi did so before the creation of Pakistan and subsequently played for Pakistan against India. Gul Mohammad, in fact did the reverse, playing for India against Pakistan in the inaugural series of 1952/53, before migrating to Pakistan in 1955 to play a solitary Test for them against Australia in 1956.

The Pakistan-India Test history also provides the only instance where both a father and his son have carried their bat through an entire innings. Nazar Mohammad did it at Lucknow in 1952 scoring 124 not out and Mudassar repeated this feat at Lahore when he made 152 not out versus India in 1983. In Nazar’s case, he also became the first cricketer to stay on the ground during the entire course of a Test match.

Tim Wigmore, writing for The Telegraph, called the Pakistan-India cricket rivalry “the biggest game in all sport, where politics, passion and national identity all collide.” Big is perhaps an understatement. Television audiences for these matches can run into hundreds of millions, meetings and ceremonies are re-scheduled to accommodate them and they are nothing short of gladiatorial contests in amphitheaters called cricket fields. They are the stuff of folklore, the stories that grandparents pass down to their grandchildren, the memories that are etched indelibly in the recesses of our minds. They are true cultural festivals, celebrated with panache and flair and accorded a centre stage show-biz reverence that is unmatched in any other sport anywhere on the planet.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books. salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com