ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK: Hardik Pandya, India's MVP against Pakistan on big stages

Hardik Pandya (Pic: AFP)

During the course of the high-octane India vs Pakistan showdown of the ICC World Cup 2023 on Saturday, there will be plenty of focus on star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been Men in Blue's most underrated and secret weapon against their arch-rivals.

The Men in Blue will be keen to extend their seven-match winning streak against Pakistan while the latter will be looking to end their World Cup duck against Team India. India has dominated the head-to-head record in ODI World Cup matches with 'Men in Blue' winning all seven games against the arch-rival, boasting a 100 per cent win record till now.

Hardik loves playing against Pakistan and the numbers prove it. In six ODIs against Pakistan, he has scored 209 runs at an average of 69.66 and a strike rate of over 132 in four innings. He has two half-centuries against the Men in Green, with the best score of 87. He also has six wickets against Pakistan in ODIs at an average of 30.16 and best bowling figures of 2/43.

His overall white-ball numbers against Pakistan are just as good as ODIs. In 12 matches against Pakistan, Pandya has scored 293 runs at an average of 41.85 in nine innings at a strike rate of over 130. He has slammed two half-centuries against Pakistan, with the best score of 87. In these 11 matches, he has taken 17 wickets at an average of 18.41, with the best bowling figures of 3/8.

Some of Pandya's most spectacular career performances have come against Pakistan. Here is a look at some of these:

• 76 off 43 balls (with four boundaries and six sixes) against Pakistan during a chase of 339 runs in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which India lost.
• 3/8 in Asia Cup 2016 that helped bundle out Pakistan for just 84 runs. India won the match.
• All-round performance of 33' in 17 balls, consisting of four boundaries and six, 3/25 in Asia Cup 2022. He helped India win the match after they were restricted to 89/4 in 14.2 overs while chasing 148 runs.
• 40 off 37 balls, with one four and two sixes and 3/30 in ICC T20 World Cup 2022. Pandya had a match-winning century stand with Virat Kohli after India sunk to 31/4 in a 160-run chase.
• 87 off 90 balls with seven fours and a six, guiding India to 266 from a terrible position of 66/4 and stitching a 138-run stand with Ishan Kishan. The match ended with no result due to rain.

This match comes after India's two matches against the arch-rivals during a winning Asia Cup campaign. One match, held in the group stage was abandoned due to rain while India registered a thumping win in the next clash during the Super Four stage.

Also Read: India, Pakistan 'at war'! But this time it's cricket

India began their World Cup campaign with a victory over Australia, while Pakistan has two victories in two matches to build momentum ahead of the major encounter.

Fans will be hoping that megastars of Men in Blue, such as Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj keep up their consistent performance to continue the country's winning streak with Pakistan in 50-over World Cups and come out with 8-0 win against the arch-rivals in the World Cup.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.