Epic Showdowns: India vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup - Head-to-Head History and Results

India beat Pakistan by 5 runs | 2007 T20 World Cup Final

Hailed as the most thrilling T20 World Cup final ever, which came in the inaugural T20 World Cup summit clash in 2007, India had elected to bat first after winning the toss. The then-young opener Gautam Gambhir had delivered under pressure to tally 75 runs off just 54 balls. India’s tally was further by a teenaged Rohit Sharma, who came on late to add 30 crucial runs in just 16 balls to take India’s total to 157 runs. 
 

Image Credits: @cricketfied007 (X Account)

Pakistan batters started their innings quite strong before facing regular dismissals, thanks to RP Singh who emerged as India’s standout bowler with impressive figures of 3/26. Though Misbah-ul-Haq had recovered the situation with a valiant effort in the middle overs it wasn’t enough as Pakistan fell short by five runs as India sealed a last-minute victory with S Sreesanth taking an iconic catch for the ages.

India dominate Pakistan by 8 wickets | 2012 T20 World Cup 

The second encounter between India and Pakistan in a T20 World Cup was quite opposite to the anticipation that the close 2007 finale had built. Played in Colombo, it was a rather one-sided encounter where India chased down an easy modest target of 129 runs with as many as eight wickets in hand.
 

Image Credits: @savage_awais (X Account)

Opting to bat first, Pakistan struggled to stitch partnerships and eventually saw their batting getting wrapped up for 128 runs. India’s start didn’t install any confidence either as opener Gautam Gambhir was out in the very first over. However, Virat Kohli, who was playing his first T20 World Cup match against Pakistan took control of the match and played a blistering and unbeaten knock of 78 runs in 61 balls. He was ably supported by Yuvraj Singh, whose handy 19 off 16 balls saw India cross the rope with three overs to spare.

India continue domineering form against archrivals | 2014 T20 World Cup

India had opted to bowl first assessing the bowling-friendly conditions in Dhaka and it proved to be the right one as Pakistan maintained the pattern of losing wickets at regular intervals. The Men in Green were so out of form that their best batsmen were Umar Akmal (33 off 30) and Ahmed Shehzad (22 off 17).

Despite the fall, Pakistani players went out all guns blazing with four of their top six batters having strike rates over 100. India’s wrecker-in-chief was spinner Amit Mishra, whose bowling figures of 4-1-22-2 didn’t allow Pakistan to settle.

Image Credits: @_extracover_ (X Account)

With yet another paltry target of 130 runs to chase, Indian batsmen had no rush but to play a run-a-ball inning where Virat Kohli (36* off 32) was again the leading run-scorer. He was followed by Suresh Raina (35* off 28) and Shikhar Dhawan (30 off 28), all of whom respected the conditions and batted intelligently to ensure no hiccups as India won the match by seven wickets. This match had also seen celebrated Indian pacer Mohammed Shami debuting and he had already made a mark by dismissing Umar Akmal.

India extends winning streak to six vs Pakistan | 2016 T20 World Cup

The much-anticipated fixture of the 2016 T20 World Cup had unfortunately seen rain play spoilsport as the number of overs was reduced to 18 per side. The changing conditions made batting quite challenging and Pakistan's top order struggled while batting first.

Having summed just 50 runs in 66 balls, the middle order had to take charge and crucial knocks from Umar Akmal (22 off 16) and Shoaib Malik (26 off 16) helped the Men in Green to reach a respectable tally of 118/5 in their allotted 18 overs.

The conditions punished India as well with their top order collapsing significantly in the first five overs and the scoreline read 23/3. Thankfully by then, Virat Kohli had made it a habit of performing against Pakistan and his unbeaten 55 turned the tide in India's favor. MS Dhoni's support down the order eventually secured the win for India with six wickets remaining. This match is widely remembered for Kohli kneeling to pay homage to Sachin Tendulkar after his half-century.

Pakistan thrash India by 10 wickets | 2021 T20 World Cup 

It took a worldwide pandemic and multiple changes in the T20 World Cup venues for Pakistan to register their first and only win over India in the T20 World Cup. Opting to field first in familiar conditions at the Dubai International Stadium, Pakistani bowlers limited Indian batters to 151 runs in 20 overs with Virat Kohli (57) and Rishabh Pant (39) being the side’s only decent performers.
 

Image Credits: @cricbuzz (X Account)

India bowlers didn’t inspire much confidence either as Mohammed Shami was hammered for 43 runs in 3.5 overs, while others failed to take a single wicket. Pakistani openers Babar Azam (68) and Mohammad Rizwan (79) comfortably chased the target in 17.5 overs as India bowed out of the group stages that year.

India beat Pakistan at MCG thriller | 2022 T20 World Cup 

The one-sided affair had become balanced following the last encounter and Pakistani batters had carried their form to the 2022 T20 World edition by tallying a competitive 159 runs in 20 overs after batting first at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

India’s standout bowlers were Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, both of whom took three wickets each. India missed the services of the enigmatic Jasprit Bumrah, but veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar did compensate for it with his economical bowling.
 

Image Credits: @ImTanujSingh (X Account)

Chasing a target of 160 runs wasn’t a challenge but Indian batsmen fell like a house of cards yet again as Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah were seen spitting fire in the early overs. India’s batting order was down to 31/4 within the first seven overs before Hardik Pandya joined Virat Kohli in the middle to forge a pivotal 113-run partnership to steady the ship.

India registered a 4-wicket win eventually but this match will always be remembered for Kohli’s astounding six off Rauf, which was declared the  'Shot of the Century' by ICC. Eventually, India registered a 4-wicket win.

India defend lowest total against Pakistan | 2024 T20 World Cup

Yet another rain-curtailed game, this time in the USA which had a lot for the bowler, Pakistan took the obvious decision of fielding first. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could jointly score 19 runs before returning to the pavilion. Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel steadied the innings but after Patel was dismissed in the eighth over, no Indian batter could stand their ground. India registered their lowest T20 World Cup total of 119 runs.

Despite the turf being bowler-friendly, a meagre target of 120 runs in 120 balls should have been easily chaseable. Jasprit Bumrah made things interesting by dismissing captain Babar Azam early on, but Usman Khan looked to prevent a debacle by playing a calm inning alongside Mohammad Rizwan. The deadlock was broken by Axar Patel in the 11th over following which Bumrah and Pandya got two wickets each to take the match to the last over. Eventually, Pakistan fell six runs short.