Ranking all 7 India vs Pakistan World Cup encounters

India vs Pakistan is arguably the most exciting cricketing rivalry of all. It is savored not just by Indians and Pakistanis but by cricket fans all over the world.

The arch-rivals have faced each other seven times in World Cup tournaments and India have proved to be the better side every single time. A rivalry like this would ordinarily expect two star-studded teams packed with legendary cricketers battling it out on cricket's biggest stage, which is exactly what has happened in the Indo-Pak World Cup games.

Over the years, these two sides have had some thrilling encounters which stand out in the World Cup record books. The men in blue and the men in green have also faced each other in several iconic World Cup knockout matches.

In this article, we rank all seven Indo-Pak World Cup encounters played till date.

#7 India vs Pakistan, World Cup 2019 at Manchester

This was probably the least exciting Indo-Pak games, for many reasons. The two sides were unevenly matched, with India being too strong for their counterparts, and the match was marred by rain too.

Being put in to bat, India scored a mammoth 336/5 with Rohit Sharma scoring another daddy hundred (140). Half-centuries from KL Rahul (57) and Virat Kohli (77) ensured that India had a strong foundation while the likes of Hardik Pandya and Co. smashed lusty hits down the order to put the finishing touches on India's superb day with the bat.

The Indian bowlers never allowed the Pakistanis to be ahead in the run chase. Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya's dual strikes in the middle overs totally derailed Pakistan's run-chase before the rain came in.

The equation was reduced to an impossible 136 from 30 balls. India comfortably won by 89 runs.

Also read – Highest strike rate in world cup

#6 India vs Pakistan, World Cup 2015 at Adelaide

The 2015 World Cup encounter was the first match of the edition for both of these teams. India batted first on a flat pitch and Virat Kohli notched up a classy 107 which helped the men in blue put up 300 runs on the board. There were handy contributions made by Shikhar Dhawan (73) and Suresh Raina (74) as well.

In reply, the Indian bowlers were too good as the Pakistani batsmen kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were never in the chase. They were bowled out for 224 and suffered a heavy defeat by 76 runs in a one-sided affair.

#5 India vs Pakistan, World Cup 1992 at Sydney

It is strange to note that India and Pakistan met each other for the first time in the fifth edition of the World Cup. In 1992, both teams had got off to a relatively poor start and needed a win to keep their hopes alive.

India scored 216/7 in a rain-curtailed 49-over game with an 18-year old Sachin Tendulkar scoring a solid half-century. Although the target was an achievable one, some of the Pakistani batsmen uncharacteristically consumed too many deliveries, leaving the rest of the batting line-up under tremendous run-rate pressure.

Pakistan were bowled out for 173, handing India a 43-run win. The match is vividly remembered for Javed Miandad's jumping incident mocking Indian wicket-keeper Kiran More.

#4 India vs Pakistan, World Cup 1999 at Manchester

There was a lot of external tension around this match as India and Pakistan were fighting the Kargil war when it took place. In the 1999 World Cup, the two teams met at the Super-Six stage and needed a win to stay in the hunt.

Batting first, India scored 227/6 with Rahul Dravid (61), Mohammed Azharuddin (59) and Sachin Tendulkar (45) being the chief contributors. It was not a big score to defend but the Indian bowlers held their nerve and bowled out Pakistan for a paltry 180.

Venkatesh Prasad returned with figures of 5 for 27.

3 India vs Pakistan, World Cup Quarter-final of 1996 at Bangalore

The 1996 quarter-final was another thrilling encounter between the two Asian cricketing giants. A defeat would have meant an end to the World Cup campaign of the either of the two teams. Pakistan had already suffered a huge blow when Wasim Akram was ruled out before the game due to an injury.

India batted first and put up a challenging 287/8 with Navjot Singh Sidhu playing the sheet-anchor role with his 93. In the end, it was Ajay Jadeja's cameo of 45 off 25 balls that gave the much-needed impetus.

The most animated moment of the game was when Aamir Sohail smacked Venkatesh Prasad for a boundary and asked him to fetch the ball. Prasad knocked over Sohail on the very next delivery and took sweet revenge.

None of the other Pakistani batsmen could put up a fight and the team fell short by 39 runs.

#2 India vs Pakistan, World Cup 2003 at Centurion

The arch-rivals met in the 2003 edition at the iconic SuperSport Park in Centurion. Opting to bat first, Pakistan set India a target of 274 - a target that does not seem daunting in the modern era, but was considered pretty tough back in the day. Saeed Anwar led the charge scoring a magnificent 101.

It was all about Sachin Tendulkar when India batted. The master and his fellow opener Virender Sehwag blazed their way to a flying start. Tendulkar was mighty unlucky to fall on 98 off 75 balls before the middle-order completed the formalities with 6 wickets remaining.

The world saw another artistic display by the master on the biggest stage.

#1 India vs Pakistan, World Cup Semi-final of 2011 at Mohali

If you witnessed this match live, you would agree that it was the greatest Indo-Pak encounter ever played in World Cup history. The atmosphere was absolutely electric, with political dignitaries from both the countries present at the stadium.

India batted first and scored 260 for 9 guided by Sachin Tendulkar's magnificent 85. In reply, the Pakistani team kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were bundled out for 231, 29 runs short of the target. Every Indian bowler contributed equally with 2 wickets apiece.

It was a thoroughly professional performance by India which saw them through to the World Cup final of 2011.