India will play Pakistan in the finals of yet another major cricket tournament at the Oval on Sunday, June 18. India won the group encounter with their arch-rivals decisively but the latter, having won three games on the trot since that decimation, will be a different side in the title clash.
Speaking from history's point of view, India-versus-Pakistan finals have two different tales to tell.
Pakistan have won several finals against India in Sharjah
One is about the two arch-rivals locking horns in Sharjah. In the desert city, it has always been Pakistan who dominated their opponents. Starting with Javed Miandad's last-ball six in 1986, the Pakistanis have beaten India in as many as four finals in Sharjah besides in numerous matches.
While Miandad hit Chetan Sharma out of the stadium for a thrilling victory in the final of the Austral-Asia Cup of 1986, Aaqib Javed's seven-for including a hat-trick had wrecked India in the final of the 1991 triangular series which also involved the West Indies.
India lost the third final to Pakistan in the Austral-Asia Cup of 1994 despite Atul Bedade's blitzkrieg while it was in 1999 when India suffered their fourth humiliating loss against Pakistan in a final in Sharjah.
We still remember Sourav Ganguly, who put up a gritty 50 in the face of a fierce Pakistani bowling attack, returned to the ground after getting knocked out by a Shoaib Akhtar bouncer.
But that's only one part of the story.
India have beaten Pakistan in finals played in Australia, Bangladesh and South Africa
Beyond the boundaries of Sharjah, it is India who have dominated Pakistan in the finals.
In 1985, the then reigning champions India had beaten Pakistan by 8 wickets in the final of the world championship played in Australia after performing consistently throughout the tournament.
India and Pakistan also played a best-of-three final in the Independence Cup in Bangladesh in 1998 which India won 2-1. The final game of the series saw India, buoyed by Ganguly's hundred, chasing 300-plus runs, something which was quite a feat in those days.
India and Pakistan had their biggest-ever faceoff in the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup played in South Afria in 2007. The game again had gone to India's favour and the margin of victory was just five runs.
India, however, lost two finals against Pakistan in the sub-continent. One was at Bengaluru in 1999. It was a one-sided final of a tri-series which also saw Sri Lanka as Pakistan thrashed the hosts by 123 runs after scoring 291.
The other final which India and Pakistan played in the sub-continent was in the triangular Kitply Cup played in Bangladesh in 2008 and in a hardly-fought final, the Pakistani prevailed at the end by pocketing the game by 25 runs after scoring 315.
Sunday's final will be the first time the two Asian rivals will lock horns in a final in England and going by India's records outside the sub-continent in final games versus Pakistan, Virat Kohli's men will be realistic about a win.
