India and Pakistan have played roughly 210 international matches across all formats since 1952. Pakistan holds a narrow overall lead, built mainly on strong Test and ODI records (12-9 in Tests from 59 matches, 73-58 in ODIs from 136 matches), while India has been dominant more recently, especially in T20Is and ICC events, including a perfect record in ODI World Cup meetings. The two boards have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13, meaning almost every modern meeting happens only at multi-nation ICC or Asia Cup tournaments.

Few fixtures in world sport carry the weight this one does. India and Pakistan cricket is not just a contest between two strong teams, it is a rivalry shaped by the shared and separated history of two nations, followed by a combined population approaching one and a half billion people whenever the two sides take the field. It is also, in a detail that surprises many casual fans, a fixture that essentially no longer exists in its original bilateral form.

This timeline traces the rivalry from its earliest Test series through to its current state, where India and Pakistan meet only inside ICC World Cups, Champions Trophy events, and the Asia Cup, never in a standalone bilateral series. Understanding how that shift happened is as important to this rivalry’s story as any single match result.

The Rivalry at a Glance

Format	Matches	India Wins	Pakistan Wins	Other
Test	59	9	12	38 draws
ODI	136	58	73	5 no result
T20I	17	14	3	—

Figures reflect commonly reported totals as of early 2026. Some sources report slightly different combined totals across all formats, generally between 207 and 212 matches, depending on how certain neutral-venue or discontinued tournament matches are counted.

The Timeline

1952

The First Test Series India and Pakistan met for the first time in Test cricket, five years after the partition of British India in 1947. Pakistan toured India for a five-match series, with the opening Test played in Delhi in October 1952. India won that first match by an innings and 70 runs under captain Lala Amarnath, and went on to win the series 2-1, the beginning of what would become cricket’s most emotionally charged rivalry.

1961-1978

Nearly Two Decades Without CricketFollowing the wars between the two nations in 1965 and 1971, India and Pakistan did not play a single Test match against each other for close to seventeen years. The gap reflected how directly the state of political relations between the two countries has always shaped the cricketing relationship, a pattern that would repeat in different forms over the following decades.

1978

Test Cricket, and ODIs, ResumeThe two sides resumed Test cricket in 1978, and also played their first-ever ODI series that year, in Quetta, Sialkot, and Sahiwal. Pakistan won the inaugural ODI series 2-1 under captain Mushtaq Mohammad, marking the start of a limited-overs rivalry that would eventually produce some of the sport’s most watched matches.

1987

The Bangalore TestA tense, low-scoring Test in Bangalore became one of the most talked-about matches of the decade, remembered for how tightly it was contested until the closing stages. Matches from this era cemented a reputation for the fixture producing unusually tense, attritional cricket, reflected in the large number of drawn Tests across the rivalry’s history.

1999

Chennai and a Standing OvationDuring Pakistan’s tour of India, a tense Test finish in Chennai ended in a narrow Pakistan win built around a match-defining spell from off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. What made the match historic was the reaction of the Chennai crowd, who gave the Pakistan team a standing ovation as they completed the win, an moment still cited as one of the great sporting gestures in the rivalry’s history.

2003

Tendulkar’s World Cup InningsAt the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar played one of the most celebrated innings of his career against Pakistan, anchoring an Indian chase in a match followed by hundreds of millions of viewers. India won the match, part of a pattern of Indian success in ODI World Cup meetings that continues to this day.

2004

A Landmark Tour and Sehwag’s Triple CenturyIndia toured Pakistan in 2004 as relations between the two countries improved, part of a broader diplomatic thaw. During the Multan Test, Virender Sehwag scored 309, becoming the first Indian batter to score a Test triple century, in an innings that also produced India’s highest-ever team total against Pakistan, 675 for 5 declared. India went on to win the series.

2007

A World Cup Final for the AgesIndia and Pakistan met in the group stage of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in a match that ended tied, decided by cricket’s only bowl-out, which India won 3-0. The two sides met again in the tournament final, where India defended 157 to win by 5 runs and become the first-ever T20 World Cup champions, a result that helped launch the format’s popularity across both nations.

2008

Cricket Ties InterruptedRelations between the two cricket boards were significantly affected following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, contributing to a broader freeze in diplomatic and sporting ties between the two countries. A planned tour was cancelled, and the rivalry’s bilateral fixtures became increasingly rare in the years that followed.

2012-13

The Last Bilateral SeriesPakistan toured India for a short limited-overs series between late December 2012 and early January 2013, winning the ODI leg and drawing the T20I series 1-1. As of 2026, this remains the last bilateral series played between the two nations. Every meeting since has taken place exclusively within ICC or Asia Cup multi-team tournaments.

2017

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy UpsetIn the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval, Pakistan produced a dominant performance to beat India by a wide margin, a result widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the rivalry’s ICC tournament history and a rare major final win for Pakistan over their neighbors on a global stage.

2019

Political Tensions Rise AgainFollowing the Pulwama attack in February 2019 and the subsequent deterioration in relations between the two countries, calls grew in India for cricketing ties to be suspended entirely, even within multi-team ICC events. The two boards continued to meet only where required by ICC tournament obligations, a pattern that has persisted since.

2021

Pakistan’s First World Cup Win Over IndiaAt the T20 World Cup in Dubai, Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets, the country’s first-ever win over India at any senior ICC World Cup, in any format, since the fixture’s history began. The result was a landmark moment for Pakistan cricket and snapped a run of World Cup dominance India had held for over a decade.

2023

A One-Sided World Cup Meeting in AhmedabadIndia beat Pakistan comfortably at the 2023 ODI World Cup, played in front of one of the largest crowds ever assembled for a cricket match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The result extended India’s unbeaten record against Pakistan in ODI World Cup history.

2025

A Dominant Year for IndiaIndia beat Pakistan in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai, with Virat Kohli scoring an unbeaten century in the win. Later that year, India also won all three of its matches against Pakistan at the Asia Cup, including the final, further extending its recent run of dominance in multi-team tournament meetings between the two sides.

2026

The Rivalry Continues at the T20 World CupIndia and Pakistan met again in the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in February, with India winning convincingly. With no bilateral series on the horizon, meetings like this one remain the only setting in which the rivalry continues to play out.

Why This Rivalry Stopped Being Bilateral

Unlike almost any other major fixture in world cricket, India vs Pakistan is no longer something either board can simply schedule. Bilateral cricketing ties have not resumed since the 2012-13 series, a direct reflection of the broader state of diplomatic relations between the two countries rather than any cricketing decision by either board. Since then, the fixture has continued to exist only because both nations remain committed to multi-team tournaments organized by the ICC and the Asian Cricket Council, competitions neither board can unilaterally withdraw from without significant consequence.

That structural change has had a real effect on how the rivalry is experienced by fans. Instead of a bilateral series building narrative and form across several matches, most modern India-Pakistan cricket happens as a single, enormously hyped fixture inside a larger tournament, then disappears again for months or years at a time. It is a rivalry now defined almost entirely by scarcity, which if anything has only intensified the attention each individual match receives, since neither side can simply wait for the next home-and-away series to settle unfinished business the way most international rivalries eventually do.

Standout Performers Across the Rivalry

Sachin Tendulkar — India’s leading run-scorer against Pakistan in Test cricket, with 2,526 runs across his career.
Inzamam-ul-Haq — Pakistan’s leading run-scorer against India in Tests, with 2,403 runs.
Wasim Akram — Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the Test fixture, with 60 wickets.
Anil Kumble — India’s leading wicket-taker in the Test fixture, with 54 wickets, including a 6 for 12 spell at Sharjah in 1993.
Virender Sehwag — holds the highest individual Test score in the fixture’s history, 309 at Multan in 2004.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the overall head-to-head record between India and Pakistan?

Pakistan holds a narrow overall lead across formats, built mainly on a strong historical record in Tests and ODIs, while India has been significantly more successful in T20Is and recent ICC tournament meetings.

When did India and Pakistan last play a bilateral cricket series?

The last bilateral series was played between December 2012 and January 2013, when Pakistan toured India for a short limited-overs series. There has been no bilateral series since.

Why don’t India and Pakistan play bilateral cricket anymore?

The suspension reflects the broader state of diplomatic relations between the two countries rather than a cricketing decision. Since 2013, the two sides have met only within ICC and Asia Cup multi-team tournaments, which both boards remain committed to as members of those governing bodies.

How has India performed against Pakistan in World Cups?

India has a perfect record against Pakistan in ODI World Cup history and has also dominated T20 World Cup meetings, with Pakistan’s sole T20 World Cup win over India coming in 2021 in Dubai.

What is considered the biggest Pakistan win over India in a major final?

Pakistan’s win in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final at The Oval is widely regarded as one of the most significant results in the rivalry’s ICC tournament history.

Who holds the record for the highest individual score in this fixture?

Virender Sehwag holds the highest individual Test score in the rivalry, scoring 309 for India at Multan in 2004.

How many times have India and Pakistan played Test cricket against each other?

The two sides have played 59 Tests, with Pakistan winning 12, India winning 9, and 38 matches ending in a draw.

When is the next India vs Pakistan match likely to happen?

With no bilateral series scheduled, the next meeting depends entirely on both teams qualifying for and being drawn into the same group at an upcoming ICC or Asia Cup tournament.

Pakistan National Cricket Team vs India National Cricket Team Timeline