Champions Trophy 2017: India vs Pakistan; 5 thrilling encounters from the past

India will be meeting its arch-rival Pakistan on June 4 in their opening match at Champions Trophy 2017. 

Cricketing rivalry between India and Pakistan have always been exciting to watch and no matter in what form the other team is, an India-Pakistan cricket match is always a special one. 

Let's take a walk down the memory lane and remember the top five nail-biting encounters between the two Asian giants   

1986 Austral-Asia Cup (Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)

India got off to flying start courtesy, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar scored 75, 92 and 50, respectively. However, Pakistan managed to pull things back by picking up wickets. But India managed respectable 245 in 50 overs. 
Pakistan made a rough start to their chase.

With Javed Miandad at one end, things soon stabilised but not for too long. Maninder Singh, Kapil Dev and Madan Lal picked up crucial wickets at the other end in spite of Miandad's century. The match went down to the last ball with Pakistan requiring four runs to win off the last ball with Miandad on strike. 

Chetan Sharma attempted to bowl a yorker but ended up bowling a waist-high full-toss. Miandad swung the bat and the ball sailed out of the park, thereby giving a new dimension to India-Pakistan cricket rivalry.

2003 World Cup (Centurion, South Africa)

India's heroic chase of 274, started with a remarkable six by Sachin Tendulkar of Shoaib Akhtar towards the deep third man. Tendulkar was dismissed on 98 amidst cramps, but the damage was done. Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh who scored unbeaten 44 and 50 respectively took India home in the 46th over. 

2004 Champions Trophy (Birmingham, England)

This match was knock-out game for both. India faltered while batting first and were reduced to 73-5 before Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar took India to 200.

Pakistan lost early wickets which set up the stage for a thriller. But Yousuf Youhana and Inzamam-ul-Haq's 75-run partnership helped Pakistan beat India in the last over, for the first time in a major tournament. Boom Boom Shahid Afridi hit six in the last over of Irfan Pathan and took Pakistan par Indian score.

2007 World Twenty20 Final (Johannesburg, South Africa)

It was the final of the first World T20 and it turned out to be one of the most absorbing contest between the two teams.

Gautam Gambhir's 75 runs followed by a cameo from Rohit Sharma helped India post 157. Umar Gul picked up 3-28 in the crucial final. Pakistan lost two early wickets before Imran Nazir and Younis Khan scored 33 and 24, respectively.

Pakistan kept losing wickets in the remainder of the innings while Misbah-ul-Haq continued his assault.

Pakistan needed 13 off the last six balls with one wicket in hand, when Joginder Sharma was given the ball in what was probably Dhoni's greatest gamble. The equation was down to six in four balls when Misbah attempted to scoop one over short fine-leg where S Sreesanth was positioned. The catch was taken and India had lifted the first ever World Twenty20 title.

2011 World Cup Semi-Final (Mohali, India)

The arch-rivals met once more in the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup. This time pressure on India was greater than Pakistan as the expectation was high from the home side.

Having been dropped four times, Tendulkar scored 85. Sehwag and Suresh Raina contributions helped India set a target of 261 as Pakistan's Wahab Riaz's took a five-wicket-haul. Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez's respective 56 and 43 went in vain as Indian bowlers came to the party and picked wickets at regular intervals to deny Pakistan a win.

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