IND v/s Pak has a long history dating back to the 1950s. Following the separation and independence of both countries, their competition grew by leaps and bounds. This sparked because of the similarities on various levels. As a result, a healthy on-field rivalry is employed to bring out the best in the athletes. They are more motivated to contribute to their teams.
Their drive and desire to win are unrivalled. The fans anticipate that if the players are defeated, they will be severely humiliated. And if they won, they’d be given a kingly title. As a result, there is always a moment of heroism in these contests.
In such instances, things can occasionally spiral out of control in the heat of the moment. Players lose their cool and become involved in fights. But, happily, things stayed on the pitch and never got out of hand. They all take it in stride as long as it doesn’t become personal.
IND v/s Pak controversial moments:
If cricket fans from the early 1990s remember the India-Pakistan match for anything, it has to be Javed Miandad’s renowned mimicry of Kiran More. This time period was established during the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia. The event occurred during Pakistan’s batting against the Men in Blue.
Miandad was once his team’s ace middle-order batter and any opponent would dream of getting him out cheaply. The main reason for this was his exceptional match-winning powers at the time. Kiran More was the keeper for India, stationed behind the stumps. More, like other keepers, was seen appealing for quite some time in enthusiasm, and he may have leapt a few times.
This piqued Javed’s interest. He became irritated by More’s frequent pleas and complained to the umpire. That didn’t stop More from participating in this aspect of mind games. However, an irritated Miandad had a surprise up his sleeve.
When the batsman got close to the stumps, he humorously hopped three times to emulate More’s good spirits. Everyone was stunned to witness something like this in a meaningful competition at the time. But it was Javed Miandad, the famed yet hilariously competitive batter from the adjoining country, who did it again.
During the 1996 Cricket World Cup, Bengaluru hosted the quarter-final match between India and Pakistan. Pakistan got off to a fast start while chasing a massive 288-run total. At one point, both openers, Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar, were cruising at 9 runs per over. Sohail was still travelling around even after Saeed Anwar was fired.
Venkatesh Prasad then entered from the other end. He pitched it slightly higher in the off-stump line, and Sohail charged down to hit through the gaps. Sohail approached Prasad when he was on his follow-through as soon as the ball struck the ropes through the covers. He pointed to the boundary, indicating that he (Prasad) belonged there.
It energised Prasad as he charged in with the ball in hand. As Sohail was fooled by his bowling, he uprooted the off stumps with the very next delivery. The crowd exploded in joy when Prasad offered Sohail an animated send-off, a very unusual gesture from Prasad. This video clip is still popular on social media, and fans relive it every time they watch some outstanding moments from the India-Pakistan rivalry.
Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar, two of India’s and Pakistan’s most fiery politicians, were both involved in this incident. It happened in 2010 during an Asia Cup match in Sri Lanka. Pakistan set a tough 268-run target for India. Furthermore, it was a must-win game for India to stay in the competition.
India was motoring well in pursuit of the objective at one point while chasing. However, after MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir were dismissed despite having spent extensive time in the middle, it appeared that the rest of the batsmen would face a difficult task in attempting to go as close to the objective as feasible. Interestingly, India’s bottom order retained their calm and sealed the match.
Notably, at the tail end of the innings, Pakistan’s paceman, Shoaib Akhtar, came in to bowl the penultimate over. He faced Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh. When 7 runs were needed off 8 balls, Harbhajan was attempting to get Raina on strike. Shoaib, on the other hand, chose to hit the hard lengths, and both deliveries were over-the-shoulder bumpers, denying Harbhajan a single.
It was at this point when Akhtar and Harbhajan got into a verbal spat. Harbhajan was enraged after this incident, and he told Akhtar that he would knock him out of the park. As a result, in the final over, Harbhajan Singh hit a six over the deep mid-wicket zone to give Team India the victory. They now spend light time reminiscing about this conversation.
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir is infamous for on-field brawls with his teammates. The opener, who was instrumental in India’s last two World Cup victories, appears to be a hothead. Shahid Afridi of Pakistan is as well. Afridi, being the all-rounder that he was, was frequently in the news for various reasons.
During the bilateral series, one incident involving these two cricketers occurred. Pakistan toured India for the series in 2007. During the third ODI of the series, Gambhir struck a boundary off Afridi’s bowling and yelled some foul words. Though Afridi first ignored the provocation, they collided later in the same over while Gambhir was attempting to sneak a single. As a result, a verbal spat between these two gaming veterans erupted throughout the game.
As the match officials had to interfere to keep them apart, things began to look bleak. Following the match, the match referee submitted a report to the ICC (International Cricket Council) detailing the incident, and severe disciplinary penalties were taken. As a punishment, Afridi was fined 95% of his match money, while Gambhir was fined 65% of his match fees.
The most amusing yet contentious occurrence occurred between a cricketer and a fan. It’s difficult to think anything like this could happen during a game, but it happened. The incident occurred in Toronto, Canada, in 1997, during the Friendship Cup. The incident occurred during India’s batting in the second One-Day International.
On this occasion, Inzamam ul Haq, who normally fields inside the thirty-yard circle, was fielding in the deep. Shiv Kumar Thind, an Indian spectator, began to frighten Inzamam at this point by screaming, “O Mote, sidha khada ho…. Mota aaloo, sada aaloo (Hey big guy, stand straight, you look like a potato)”.
With the fan’s intensity in attempting to sledge the great Pakistan batter mounting, Inzamam became enraged. But what happened at the end of the 16th over was an unexpected reaction. He approached that person in the stands. The onlookers tried to keep them apart until Inzamam grabbed a bat from one of the reserve players. Fortunately, security guards intervened to take control of the situation. Notably, the game was delayed for 37 minutes as a result of this occurrence.
Inzamam Ul Haq later maintained that his attitude and actions were justifiable. Both parties filed allegations of assault against each other. However, the Pakistan great later dropped the allegations, but he could not escape the ICC’s wrath, as he was penalised for two matches for his on-field actions.
So, this was all about the topmost moments of the IND v/s Pak rivalry. Also read, Sanju Samson to replace cricketer KL Rahul for Asia Cup?
