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

June 19, 2010: India won by 3 wickets at Dambulla

Possibly one of the closest encounters between the two sides in the competition, the match was not a high-scoring encounter but it went down to the very last over with India crawling their way to a win. Batting first, Pakistan scripted a fighting 267, courtesy fifties from Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal. Malik and Shahid Afridi contributed with crucial 30s as well to help Pakistan cross the 250-run mark.

In reply, India were reduced to 82 for 2 within 18 overs and though the target was not as hefty, Saeed Ajmal had started weaving his magic. However, MS Dhoni combined with Gautam Gambhir to negate the spin threat and a 98-run partnership brought the momentum back into the Indian side. However, their quick dismissals started a collapse and India had lost 6 wickets by the 46th over. With 16 runs required off the last two overs, the tension around the camps had reached sky-high, but the match tilted in favour of the Indians as Suresh Raina first hit a six and then scrambled for three runs in the penultimate over to reduce the equation to 7 off 6.

However, with Raina getting dismissed in the second ball of the last over, the pressure seemed to mount around the stadium, which was even witnessed in the heated exchange between Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh. With three needed off the last ball and with Bhajji on strike, only a boundary could save India. A towering six that was greeted with Bhajji pointing his willow towards Akhtar ended one of the most exciting clashes in the history of the Asia Cup.