The much-anticipated India-Pakistan duel in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup could not take place as both Asian giants and former champions were knocked out of the group stage itself.
Their ouster from the Caribbean came as a big shock to most Asian followers as a potential blockbuster was stalled from happening due to India and Pakistan’s early exit.
However, come July 3, the Asians and cricket followers world over will witness India and Pakistan meeting for the first time in 2007 in Glasgow for a one-off charity ODI.
The return of speedster Shoaib Akhtar in the Pakistan team and the inclusion of Sachin Tendulkar in the India one-day fold will reignite the passion and rivalry that exists between the two nations and the cricketers alike.
Both teams will be keen to draw first blood as they are slated to meet later in November in India for a full-fledged Test and one-day series.
Pakistan will be led by a new captain in Shoaib Malik while India would boast of some great experience in the batting with the trio of Tendulkar,Ganguly and Dravid uniting in the same lineup besides there would be the exciting Dhoni and Yuvraj to bolster the batting.
India and Pakistan last played in UAE in 2006 and the 2-match series for the DLF Cup ended in a 1-1 draw.
With Glasgow being a neutral venue, Pakistan overall, enjoy a better record over their arch-rivals having won 36 of the 62 ODIs played at neutral grounds. India have won only 24 of these with two ending in no result.
Since inception, India and Pakistan have meet on 108 occasions with India winning just 40 and their neighbours recording 64 wins.
In a one-off tie played in 2004 in Kolkata to commemorate the BCCI Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Pakistan beat India while their one-off meeting in the Videocon Cup in Netherlands and England in 2004 during the ICC Champions Trophy resulted in wins for Pakistan.
However, when Pakistan toured India in 2004-05 they won the six match ODI series 4-2 but lost the reverse series in Pakistan 4-1 in 2005-06.
Source: cricketworldcuplatest.com/news/india-pakistan-meet-in-glasgow-for-the-first-time--113379.html