What happened the last time India and Pakistan faced off in an ODI?

Whenever India clash with Pakistan, the excitement, the thrill, the drama is always blowing through the roofs and both the countries deem this game as probably the most important fixture of any tournament. The rivalry has a heated undertone to it and no matter the stage, no matter the occasion or the tournament, whenever these two take to the field in an attempt to topple the other, it is going to be a crazy, crazy day for the cricket lovers.

So what did happen when India took on Pakistan in an ODI match for the last time? Well, the answer is that the fans didn’t really manage to get a full game because the rain gods interrupted the flow of play but the Indian fans left with a smile on their face as the Men in Blue thumped the Pakistanis emphatically after the Duckworth Lewis method was invoked. Here is a quick glance at what really unfurled when the two teams met the last time.

It was way back in 2019, when the two formidable forces locked horns in Manchester in the preliminary round of the World Cup. Batting first, India posted a staggering 336 on the board, fuelled by KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma’s blistering start. 

Rahul scored a half-century while Rohit blasted a swashbuckling 140 from only 113 balls, clobbering 14 fours and three sixes. India’s captain back then, Virat Kohli knitted together a brilliant 77 while Hardik Pandya’s late flourish allowed the Men in Blue to post a mammoth total on the board.

Walking out to chase 302 from 40 overs, a revised equation due to heavy downpour, Pakistan had an early stutter as Vijay Shankar removed Imam ul Haq for cheap. However, braving the early storm, the partnership of Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam did add some stability to the innings, only for India to make late inroads and apply a halt to the run flow.

Sarfaraz Ahmed and company could never recover from that early rut as India walked away with the bragging rights emphatically. Rohit Sharma was handed the Player of the Match award for his incredible 140-run showdown, a prelude to the storm that was about to take over the 2019 World Cup.