Asia Cup 2022: India vs Pakistan Head to Head Record

India vs Pakistan Head to Head Stats

One of the fiercest rivalries in sport receives its next instalment this weekend, as India and Pakistan meeting at the Asia Cup 2022.

Scheduled for Sunday afternoon, their August 28th meeting is hotly anticipated—both to see how each side begins their Asia Cup campaign ahead of the T20 World Cup in six weeks’ time, and as a matter of national pride.

We take a look at some of the head-to-head statistics between India and Pakistan in the T20 format of the game, as well as at the Asia Cup.

IND vs PAK Head to Head Stats in T20s

Overall T20 Record Between India and Pakistan

Surprisingly, for such a great rivalry, there’s actually a fairly small sample size of matches to go off between India and Pakistan in T20Is.

Given the difficulties that exist around organising games between India and Pakistan, as well as the newness of the T20 format in cricket, India and Pakistan have only played each other nine times in T20 internationals.

Seven of these meetings have occurred in tournaments, with six World Cup meetings and one prior Asia Cup T20 meeting. India have had the better of these encounters by far, with the men in blue coming away victors seven times, compared to Pakistan’s two victories. The lowest point of these losses for Pakistan actually occurred the last time the Asia Cup was played in T20 format, in 2016, when Pakistan were scuttled for 83 runs in Dhaka.

Across these nine meetings, an average of 137.6 runs are scored by India, and 135.4 runs by Pakistan. The highest total between the two sides has been 192 runs scored by India, while Pakistan’s highest score has been 181 runs. Both teams have been bowled for under 100 previously, with India also sinking to 85 runs once before.

There’s no doubt that when India and Pakistan meet in T20Is, fans can expect a close fought match.

Last T20 Meeting Between India and Pakistan

However, the last time India and Pakistan met in T20Is was Pakistan’s greatest victory.

Clashing in the group stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup, Pakistan successfully restricted India to 151/7, with Shaheen Afridi playing a key role in Pakistan’s bowling attack. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were both removed within Afridi’s first two overs, with Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant launching a comeback before Afridi broke the partnership at the death as well, seeing India reach a sub-par score.

Pakistan then chased the score down for the loss of no wickets, cantering to a ten wicket win by way of an unbeaten partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.

Previous T20I Meetings Between India and Pakistan

Last year’s match was the first time Pakistan had tasted success against their rivals in many years.

Prior to this, the track record between the two had made grim reading for Pakistan:

Clearly, the team that wins the toss should choose to chase, as the chasing side has won every time between India and Pakistan over the last decade, going back to 2012.

Asia Cup Statistics - India vs Pakistan Overall

Given that the Asia Cup has been played in various white ball formats of the game, when we look at the two team’s Asia Cup track records, it fares a little better for Pakistan.

The two sides have played a total of 14 matches, with India taking down eight wins, and Pakistan five. One of the games in 1997 was declared a no result.

However, India have gone on to win the tournament many more times, claiming the silverware seven times, compared to Pakistan’s two victories in 2000 and 2012.

India have won seven of the last Asia Cup meetings between the two sides stretching back to 2008. Their total head-to-head looks like this:

Again, the side the chases is the overwhelming favourite in Asia Cup meetings between India and Pakistan. In their previous eight clashes, the side chasing has won—the clock needs to be rewound to find the last time the side batting first won, which was Pakistan by 59 runs.

What the Statistics Tell Us About India vs Pakistan Matches

Looking at the head-to-head statistics between India and Pakistan across T20Is and Asia Cup matches, two key trends emerge.

Firstly, as already revealed, the side chasing is heavily favoured. Heading into the August 28th meeting, expect whichever captain wins the toss to opt for a bowl, as this has been a trend that has worked across both Asia Cup and T20I meetings between India and Pakistan. With the games being played in August in the UAE this will make matters interesting, as the first innings temperatures will be difficult for the fielding sides to handle.

Secondly, matches between India and Pakistan in both Asia Cup and T20I matches are typically low-scoring affairs. These games are about bowling attacks, rather than batting line ups. This makes matters very interesting heading into this year’s tournament, as both sides have batting as their strength. With the Top Three batters in T20 cricket featuring across these two sides, as well as strong, settled batting line ups, it will be interesting to see if the current trend of bowling dominated games shifts in 2022.

Given that both Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi, two bowlers who have featured prominently in clashes between these sides, are ruled out of the tournament with injury, that could well be the case. Perhaps 2022 is the year where batting rules the contest between India and Pakistan.

Expect the head-to-head statistics between India and Pakistan to be somewhat different after the Asia Cup 2022, as both sides enter this match up with different team compositions to previous encounters.