Whether it was a 50-over or T20 World Cup, Pakistan has only ever defeated India once. The team’s victory occurred in Dubai at the T20 World Cup 2021 when Babar Azam’s team defeated the Indian squad. When it comes to T20 World Cups, India has defeated Pakistan seven times and only once in the past eight times when playing the 50-over format.
Pakistani cricket player Mohammad Rizwan recounted the incredible impact that a single victory had on the lives of his country’s players after their team’s 2021 T20 World Cup victory over India.
“Before the World Cup match, we had never defeated India. When we gathered, Ramiz Raja told us that we had to defeat India. At an event in the USA, Rizwan stated, “There was still a long way to go for the World Cup when he first took over as PCB president, but he had started developing this thought in the team right away.”
“He emphasized that as the World Cup drew nearer, the most important thing was to avoid losing to India, whether you were winning the trophy or not. He would put pressure on us after telling us not to succumb to pressure, he continued.
It is necessary to promote the competition between India and Pakistan. At the 2021 competition, Matthew Hayden, a legend in Australia, was coaching the Pakistani side. Prior to the well-publicized confrontation, Rizwan also disclosed Hayden’s message.
“There is pressure whenever India plays Pakistan. Regardless of their nationality, people gather to watch this game, even though they may not watch every match in a tournament. We had Matthew Hayden with us at the time. He asked how we were feeling and wrapped his arms around the captain and me. After all of our hard work, we now put everything in God’s hands, the captain” stated to Rizwan.
The Pakistani wicket-keeper batsman also disclosed that some people let him and the other squad members shop for free instead of requiring them to pay money.
“For me it was all a first, whether it be playing in a World Cup or in such a big match. So I was feeling quite normal, I didn’t think this was any different from any other match. But when we won, that is when I realised what we achieved. In Pakistan, say I go shopping somewhere, people won’t take money. Then I stopped going out for shopping because they just weren’t taking money from us, they were all commending us for beating India. Everyone I met was commending us for the win. Once when I went to someone’s room they had the match playing on television and said that they watch it everyday,” he said
India and Pakistan will face off again in T20 World Cup 2024 on June 09.