The Champions Trophy is set to begin today, with the defending champions Pakistan led by a new skipper Mohammad Rizwan taking over New Zealand in the first match of the tournament in Karachi. Pakistan is hosting an ICC tournament after a long gap of 29 years, in a hybrid model with some matches to be played in UAE. 

But what fans await for is the India-Pakistan match, an age old rivalry between the two neighboring nations. Rohit Sharma led pack will begin their campaign against Bangladesh, intending to win another ICC tournament, after their last stint in 2024. It will be their second match of the Champions Trophy, when the arch rivals face one another this weekend, Sunday noon. India will seek on for a revenge of the 2017 Champions Trophy loss, where Pakistan defeated the former and lifted the cup winning the final. It was the last edition of Champions Trophy, which is now back again after 8 yeras in 2025. 

Before they take on the field, here is a look at the India-Pak rivalry, one of the greatest and most intense sport rivalries of the world:

Following the partition of 1947, India and Pakistan faced each other for the first time in 1952 in a test series where India won 2-1. If we talk about the first ever ODI series, it was held in 1978 when India won again 2-1. The first ever T20 series, between India-Pakistan was in 2007 when the two teams played the shortest format of the game, that too began with a tie.

Owing to political issues and border scuffles over time, the two teams now compete only in ICC tournaments. After a continuous halt, followed by a resume, the last bi-lateral series was organized in 2012, since then the face-off is only in ICC tournaments.   

In this article, we will restrict only to the major ICC tournaments, ACC tournaments, ODI matches and especially, the Champions Trophy where Ind-Pak were head to head. Here are the stats and records:

India vs Pakistan head to head in ODIs

Let us talk about the ODI stats, because Champions Trophy is a 50-over game. India and Pakistan have played 139 ODI matches so far, Pakistan winning 73 and India standing with 57 wins and 9 matches didn’t have a result. This includes 17 ODI series, Pakistan again leading with 11 and India winning 5.

India vs Pakistan head to head in ICC ODI tournaments

As for the India-Pak tussle in ICC ODI tournaments, the two have clashed 8 times at the ODI World Cup, and it has clearly been a one-sided affair, with India whitewashing Pakistan with 8-0. Pakistan couldn’t manage to win even a single game against India in the 31 years they have played the World Cup. Until more recently, in the 2023 ODI World Cup, India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets, taking the tally to 8-0.  

Champions Trophy

If we talk about the Champions Trophy in particular, Pakistan leads with one win. They have faced each other in the tournament in five matches, with India winning two games and Pakistan a slight ahead with three. India will be looking for a level up, by winning the second match of the tournament on February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

If we look at the overall record of ICC tournaments, including the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup as well as the Champions Trophy, India stands taller winning 16 of the 21 matches played and Pakistan only 4 to its kitty.

Notably, India has won the ICC ODI World cup, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC T20 World Cup twice each. One of the ICC T20 World Cup final against Pakistan only in the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2007. If we talk about Pakistan, it has lifted up the ICC ODI World Cup once, Champions Trophy also once in 2017 where it defeated India. They haven’t won a T20 World Cup till now.  

ACC tournaments

India and Pakistan are the two leading cricketing nations in Asia. They participate in the ACC Asia cups organized, a total of 16 so far. The record lies in India’s favor with 8-3 of all the ACC tournaments organized so far. This includes 7 ACC Asia Cup (ODI) AND 1 ACC Asia Cup (T20). On the contrary, Pakistan has won 2 ACC Asia Cup (ODI) and 1 Asian test championship, India drew out of the latter.

If we talk about the face-off till now, India and Pakistan have played 207 matches across all the formats against one another. Pakistan has 88 victories to its credit and 75 are with India. In tests and ODIs, Pakistan has won more matches, and India leads in T20s. However, India’s winning graph in ICC tournaments is higher.

With the Champions Trophy, the two competing sides will have a fresh take to the rivalry, a new chapter shall be added. And the excitement is already rising up in the audience, with people ready to throng to the stadium in Dubai, and others all glued up to their screens this Sunday! Let’s see is it a Mauka-Mauka or badla- badla…