The world is abuzz with the much-anticipated Semi-Final of the ICC Cricket Cup 2011 between arch rivals, India and Pakistan on 30th March, at Mohali- only a few hours away from now. It will be second Semi-Final of the tournament; the first was played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on 29th March at Colombo, where the Lankan Lions confirmed their place in the Final, which is to be played on 2nd of April at Mumbai, India.
Both countries have faced each other four times in the World Cups, ever since it commenced in 1975, with India winning all four. We will analyze the previous four games and the performances of their past teams.
1992 Benson and Hedges World Cup
The match was played on 4th March at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. India scored 216 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 49 overs. Sachin Tendulkar top scored with 54 runs in a partnership with Ajay Jadeja contributing 46 runs.
Mushtaq Ahmed was the star wicket taker with 3 wickets; Aaqib Javed took 2 as Wasim Haider claimed a wicket.
Pakistan was bowled out at 173 runs in 48.1 overs, Aamer Sohail was the highest scorer with 62 runs and Javed Miandad scored 40 runs.
Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar and Javagal Srinath had 2 victims each, as Sachin Tendulkar and Venkatapathy Raju claimed a wicket each.
India won the match by 43 runs.
1996 Wills World Cup
The Quarter-Final was played at Bangalore on 9th March, with India scoring a memorable 287 runs when they had lost 8 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Navjot Sidhu was the star batsman with 93 runs and Jadeja came out with 45 runs.
Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed held 2 wickets each as three bowlers claimed a wicket each.
The entire Pakistan team went back to the pavilion once they scored 248 runs in 49 overs. Aamer Sohail was the chief scorer with 55 runs and Saeed Anwar scored 48 runs.
Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble each grabbed three wickets, as the remaining two bowlers got a wicket each.
India won the match by 39 runs.
1999 ICC Cricket World Cup
Both teams qualified for the Super Sixes stage and the match was played at Manchester, England on 8th June.
India posted 227 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 50 overs, Rahuul Dravid was the highest scorer with 61 runs and Mohammad Azharuddin scored 59 runs.
Wasim Akram and Azhar Mahmood took 2 wickets each as two bowlers claimed a wicket each.
Pakistan was bowled out at 45.3 overs; Inzamam-ul-Haq was the top scorer with 41 runs with Saeed Anwar sharing a partnership of 36 runs.
Prasad wrecked the Pakistan batting and sent back five batsmen, Srinath took three as Kumble had two wickets.
India won the match by 47 runs.
2003 ICC Cricket World Cup
The event took place on 1st March at Super Sport Park, Centurion. Pakistan posted on board 273 runs as they lost 7 wickets in 50 overs. Saeed Anwar came out with an elegant century and scored 101 runs with Younis Khan scoring 32 runs.
Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra claimed 2 wickets each as two bowlers shared a wicket each.
India chased the target in 45.4 overs; Tendulkar was unlucky to miss the century by two runs, and Yuvraj Singh remained unbeaten at 50 runs.
Waqar Younis took 2 wickets as two bowlers claimed a wicket each.
India won the match by 6 wickets.
India has an edge over Pakistan by a clean sweep of 4-0 in the World Cup matches so far. They are appearing for the fifth time in the big event, with both teams hoping to win the match. India will try to make it 5-0, as Pakistan aims to do its best to reduce the deficit by one game.
