A history of the best encounters between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup

July 25, 2004: Pakistan won by 59 runs at Colombo

The game in 2004 was guided by one man - Shoaib Malik. He hung around and held one end up even as wickets were constantly tumbling at the other end. His knock of 143 off 127 deliveries consisted of 18 boundaries and one six and the importance of the innings can be gauged from the fact that apart from the right-hander, no other Pakistani batsmen crossed the 50-run mark. Pakistan ended with 300 runs on the board, which was also the first time that the side breached the 300-run mark against India in an Asia Cup game.

The match seemed ill-fated for the Indians after Virender Sehwag was out early but the two senior pros Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly stitched together a 62-run partnership to shift the momentum in India’s favour, albeit slightly. However, once Ganguly was dismissed India lost a couple of quick wickets but Tendulkar failed to get fazed, notching up a 53-run partnership with Irfan Pathan for the sixth wicket.

However, once he was dismissed for 78 runs off 103 balls in the 43rd over, the match seemed to close in on Pakistan and despite a stiff resistance from India, the opponents grabbed a 59-run victory. Malik, along with his brilliant hundred, picked up 2 wickets with the ball as well to end a perfect day for himself and his team.