Despite not playing any bilateral series in the last decade, the two teams have faced each other in as many as 200 international matches (Tests, ODIs & T20Is) so far. The last clash between the Men in Blue and the Men in Green was their encounter at last year’s T20 World Cup in Dubai, where Pakistan registered their first ever World Cup win against India ever, defeating their rivals by a whopping margin of 10 wickets.
India though have overall dominated Pakistan in the T20 format, despite losing comprehensively against them the last time they played each other. The two teams which have played the most number of T20Is in the world overall, Pakistan (190) and India (174), have played just nine matches against each other so far in the shortest format, with India winning six of them against two by Pakistan — one (first ever T20I between India and Pak at the 2007 T20 WC) ended in a tie, which India won via a Bowl Out.
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The stars of India vs Pakistan T20Is
Virat Kohli has an outstanding record against Pakistan in the shortest format of the game, having scored 311 runs @77.75 in just 7 innings so far. He has hit three fifties against the arch-rivals, even though the strike rate is on the lower side — 118.25. He is the leading run-scorer in the storied rivalry in the format, followed by Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik who accumulated 164 runs @27.33 in 8 innings. Kohli will be seen in action at the Asia Cup, but Malik is not part of the Pakistan squad this time round.
MOST RUNS IN INDIA VS PAK T20I MATCHES:
| Matches | Innings | Runs | HS | Average | SR | 100s | 50s | |
| Virat Kohli | 7 | 7 | 311 | 78* | 77.75 | 118.25 | 0 | 3 |
| Shoaib Malik | 9 | 8 | 164 | 57* | 27.33 | 103.79 | 0 | 1 |
| Md. Hafeez | 8 | 7 | 156 | 61 | 26.00 | 118.18 | 0 | 2 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 8 | 8 | 155 | 72 | 25.83 | 109.92 | 0 | 1 |
Among the bowlers too, a few of the Indian top wicket-takers against Pakistan in T20Is overall will be playing the upcoming Asia Cup – namely Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja. Bhuvneshwar is the second most successful Indian bowler, after Irfan Pathan (6 wickets), against Pakistan in T20I cricket, with 5 wickets from 4 matches. Jadeja has taken 4 wickets from 5 games against the arch-rivals. Whereas, the leading wicket-takers of Pakistan against India are not part of the upcoming tournament. Umar Gul leads the list with 11 wickets from 6 games, followed by Mohammad Asif with 5 wickets from 2 games.
MOST WICKETS IN INDIA VS PAK T20I MATCHES:
| Matches | Innings | Wickets | BBI | Average | Economy | SR | |
| Umar Gul | 6 | 6 | 11 | 4/37 | 16.18 | 8.27 | 11.7 |
| Irfan Pathan | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3/16 | 11.00 | 6.00 | 11.00 |
| Md. Asif | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4/18 | 8.60 | 6.14 | 8.4 |
| Irfan Pathan | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3/9 | 20.20 | 7.21 | 16.8 |
After almost 10 months, India and Pakistan will renew their rivalry in the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE. As the two arch-rivals ready themselves to play hopefully twice (league stage and Super 4) or maybe even thrice (potential final) in the coming weeks, TimesofIndia.com here examines how the two teams have fared since their T20 World Cup encounter on 24th October 2021, and who the outstanding T20I performers have been for them during this period:
India & Pakistan performances since their 2021 T20 World Cup encounter
With the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup scheduled in the second half of the year 2022, India have played quite a number of T20Is as part of the preparation since losing to Pakistan in Dubai. The current World No. 1 side in T20I cricket, India have played as many as 28 Twenty20 Internationals in the 10 month period since the 10 wicket loss vs Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup, winning 22 of them. They have suffered just five defeats in those 28 games, with one no result.
They have won series against the likes of New Zealand, West Indies (twice), Sri Lanka, Ireland and England. They drew a five-match series 2-2 against South Africa too.
INDIA T20I RECORD SINCE 10 WICKET LOSS VS PAKISTAN IN 2021 T20 WC ON OCTOBER 24, 2021:
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | |
| India | 28 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
In comparison, Pakistan have played just 12 T20Is during the said period, winning 10 of them and suffering two defeats. Surprisingly, in a World Cup and Asia Cup year, the current World No. 3 team has played just one T20I in 2022 — against Australia in Lahore, which they lost by 3 wickets. They have won series against Bangladesh and West Indies, and suffered both their losses to Australia since their 10 wicket win vs India in October 2021.
PAKISTAN T20I RECORD SINCE 10 WICKET WIN VS INDIA IN 2021 T20 WC ON OCTOBER 24, 2021:
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | |
| Pakistan | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Stand-out performers for India and Pakistan since 2021 T20 WC clash (on Oct 24, 2021)
Among the batters, new India skipper Rohit Sharma leads the charts of highest T20I run-getters during the said period for India in T20I cricket, with 623 runs @32.78 in 20 innings, which includes five fifties. Right after Rohit on the list is India’s new limited-overs sensation Suryakumar Yadav, who has accumulated 522 runs @37.28 in 17 innings at a strike rate of 178.15. Surya also smashed a hundred and three fifties during the period.
The two along with seasoned campaigners like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant will again form the backbone of the Indian batting line-up. They also have the likes of Deepak Hooda along with comeback man Dinesh Karthik in their ranks.
MOST T20I RUNS FOR INDIA SINCE THE 2021 T20 WC MATCH VS PAKISTAN ON OCTOBER 24, 2021:
| Matches | Innings | Runs | HS | Average | SR | 100s | 50s | |
| Rohit Sharma | 20 | 20 | 623 | 74 | 32.78 | 146.93 | 0 | 5 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 18 | 17 | 522 | 117 | 37.28 | 178.15 | 1 | 3 |
| Shreyas Iyer | 17 | 16 | 479 | 74* | 39.91 | 140.05 | 0 | 4 |
| Ishan Kishan | 16 | 16 | 463 | 89 | 28.93 | 128.96 | 0 | 3 |
Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel lead the bowlers’ charts for India with 23 wickets each in the said period. Bhuvnehswar took those wickets at an average of 18.73 and a strike rate of 16.1, and conceded runs at an economy rate of below 7 – 6.95. Patel is slightly expensive, having an economy rate of 8.58, but boasts a strike rate of 14.6. Unfortunately for India, Harshal along with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah are missing the Asia Cup due to injury and that can possibly have an impact on India’s pace attack.
In their absence, young Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan will support Bhuvneshwar in the UAE. There is also Hardik Pandya, who has been in good bowling form of late and has once again become India’s number one fast bowling all-rounder. India also have a formidable spin attack, led by the in-form Yuzvendra Chahal, who took 16 wickets in 12 innings during the period, and it comprises veterans like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and also talented youngster Ravi Bishnoi.
MOST T20I WICKETS FOR INDIA SINCE THE 2021 T20 WC MATCH VS PAKISTAN ON OCTOBER 24, 2021:
| Matches | Innings | Wickets | BBI | Average | Economy | Strike rate | |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 20 | 19 | 23 | 4/13 | 18.73 | 6.95 | 16.1 |
| Harshal Patel | 17 | 16 | 23 | 4/25 | 20.95 | 8.58 | 14.6 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 13 | 12 | 16 | 3/20 | 18.62 | 7.06 | 15.8 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 9 | 9 | 15 | 4/16 | 16.53 | 7.15 | 13.8 |
For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are the leading run-getters for them since their thumping 10 wicket win vs India at the 2021 T20 World Cup. Rizwan, who has fast become one of the most dependable batters for Pakistan has scored 518 runs @47.09 in 12 innings in the said period, which includes four fifties, while Babar has accumulated 414 runs @34.50 in 12 innings with the help of five fifties.
Zaman is third on the list for them with 232 runs @25.77 in 11 innings. All three though have strike rates of below 130, considered a bit slow for the format. Rizwan has scored his runs at a strike rate of 126.34, Babar at 123.21 and Zaman at 114.28. The plus point for Pakistan is that all three are in the Asia Cup squad for them.
MOST T20I RUNS FOR PAKISTAN SINCE THE 2021 T20 WC MATCH VS INDIA ON OCTOBER 24, 2021:
| Matches | Innings | Runs | HS | Average | SR | 100s | 50s | |
| Mohd. Rizwan | 12 | 12 | 518 | 87 | 47.09 | 126.34 | 0 | 4 |
| Babar Azam | 12 | 12 | 414 | 79 | 34.50 | 123.21 | 0 | 5 |
| Fakhar Zaman | 11 | 11 | 232 | 57* | 25.77 | 114.28 | 0 | 2 |
| Haider Ali | 6 | 5 | 150 | 68 | 37.50 | 122.95 | 0 | 1 |
Young pacer Mohammad Wasim leads the wicket-takers’ list for Pakistan during the said period with 15 scalps from 7 T20Is. He has an impressive strike rate of 10.8 and an economy rate of 7.44. Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf are next on the list with 14 and 13 wickets respectively. Shadab has an outstanding economy rate of 5.97 too. All three of them are part of the Asia Cup squad but the Men in Green will surely miss the services of the red hot Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was ruled out due to injury.
Overall, the Pakistan pace bowling attack at the Asia Cup is not very experienced in T20I cricket. The likes of Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim junior and Shahnawaz Dahani have played a cumulative 66 matches between them. 19 year old pace sensation Naseem Shah meanwhile is yet to make his T20I debut.
MOST T20I WICKETS FOR PAKISTAN SINCE THE 2021 T20 WC MATCH VS INDIA ON OCTOBER 24, 2021:
| Matches | Innings | Wickets | BBI | Average | Economy | SR | |
| Mohd. Wasim | 7 | 7 | 15 | 4/40 | 13.40 | 7.44 | 10.8 |
| Shadab Khan | 10 | 10 | 14 | 4/26 | 16.64 | 5.97 | 16.7 |
| Haris Rauf | 11 | 11 | 13 | 4/22 | 24.38 | 7.89 | 18.5 |
| Shaheen Afridi | 9 | 9 | 12 | 3/26 | 19.58 | 6.52 | 18/0 |
Over the decades, India vs Pakistan matches have produced some incredible cricket. Both sides have had numerous legendary players in their ranks. The last encounter between these two teams left the Indian fans shell-shocked. This time around, fans on both sides of the border will be hoping to see a cracker of a contest each time these two sides clash at the Asia Cup.
