Nachiket Deuskar
Moneycontrol News
Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan cricket team's young captain has said that his team will be looking to maintain the positive record it has against India in the Champions Trophy tie on Sunday. The two teams will battle it out at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England.
A First of Firsts
Not having played a single bilateral series since 2012-13, the two teams have clashed only in major tournaments. This will be the first time Virat Kohli will be leading the national side in an ICC event just like his counterpart Ahmed.
Numberspeak
While the 28-year-old has an impressive ODI record with 27 centuries and 39 half-centuries, only two of these centuries have come against Pakistan.
While Kohli averages just above 53 in ODIs, the number comes down to 41.44 against Pakistan in 10 outings. To put things in perspective, he has scored five centuries and four half-centuries against Australia at an average of 55 in 23 outings.
His performance against the green brigade in the Twenty20 (T20) format is impressive with four scores of more than 30 in six matches, all of which came in major events. He has not played a single Test match against Pakistan yet.
The flip side
Barring the two centuries, Kohli has scored just 83 runs in the rest eight matches against Pakistan since 2009. These eight matches bring down his average to around 10 runs.
The Pakistan squad boasts of 27-year-old Junaid Khan against whom Kohli has scored just two runs off 22 balls. Junaid has taken Kohli's wicket on three out of four occasions when they have faced each other.
Khan will look to continue his record against Kohli on Sunday.
Kohli's impressive knocks vs Pakistan
183 (148) vs Pakistan (Dhaka, 2012 Asia Cup)
This knock came at during a period when Kohli was 'coming of age'. After a 224-runs first wicket partnership, Pakistan had managed to mount a target of 330 for India. Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed had both scored centuries and Younis Khan scored a half-century.
After Gambhir's departure on a duck, Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli steadied the ship. Just after Tendulkar got out for 52, Kohli initiated a carnage, amassing 183 runs off just 148 balls in the process. Kohli got out with a famous win in sight before Dhoni sealed the match.
In retrospect, it turned out to be Tendulkar's last ODI, making it even more special for Kohli fans.
107 (126) vs Pakistan (Adelaide Oval, 2015 World Cup)
World Cup encounters between the two arch-rivals is always exciting. This was the first group match for both the teams.
Kohli played in a composed manner initially, but went for the big shots later in the inning. He became the first Indian to score a World Cup century against Pakistan.
Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, helped India score 300. Unable to convert their starts, the Pakistani batting line-up was bundled up for 224.
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