India vs Pakistan - a look back at five memorable tournament finals

The India and Pakistan men's teams have played each other in 210 matches across formats, but meetings in tournament finals are rare. In the last 40 years, it's happened only five times in tournaments with five or more teams. In the lead up to the first ever Asia Cup final between the sides, here's a look back at those iconic matches.

Srikkanth, Shastri conquer the MCG

World Championship of Cricket, 1985, Melbourne

The hype was massive: Melbourne the stage, India versus Pakistan in front of 50,000 fans, but the final was one-sided. Pakistan batted first and never broke free. Kapil Dev and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan took three wickets each, with Javed Miandad's 48 and Imran Khan's 35 the only resistance as Pakistan crawled to 176 for 9.

India's reply was comprehensive. Kris Srikkanth, the player of the match, hammered 67 with six fours and two sixes, while Ravi Shastri scored an unbeaten 63. Their 103-run stand deflated Pakistan and India won by eight wickets. Shastri took home the "Champion of Champions" title and an iconic Audi. Two years after winning the 1983 World Cup, India were undisputedly the best ODI team in the world.

Miandad, and that last-ball six

Austral-Asia Cup, 1986, Sharjah

If Melbourne '85 was a smooth Indian victory, the Austral-Asia Cup final in Sharjah the following year was its polar opposite. Srikkanth again troubled Pakistan, blazing 75 off 80, while Sunil Gavaskar (92) and Dilip Vengsarkar (50) put India on course for a huge total. But Wasim Akram ran through the middle order with 3 for 42 and India eventually ended up with 245 for 7, an extremely competitive total for that era. Pakistan's innings swung back and forth. Wickets fell regularly, but one man remained resolute - Javed Miandad, dazzling with a century in hot, sapping conditions, cajoled for singles and twos and his occasional boundaries brought the game down to the last ball.

The climax that followed dominated the India-Pakistan narrative for years to come. With Pakistan nine down, needing four off the final delivery, Chetan Sharma missed his attempted yorker and Miandad clubbed the low full toss over midwicket for six to finish unbeaten on 116. The image of Miandad punching the air remains one of cricket's most replayed moments. Beyond the result, it shaped the psychology of future India-Pakistan contests. For much of the next decade, Pakistan had mental edge, and for Indian fans, it was a scar that lingered for years.

India undone by Sohail and Anwar

Austral-Asia Cup, 1994, Sharjah

By 1994, Pakistan had an even more formidable batting line-up. Opener Saeed Anwar had become India's nemesis, and he set the tone with a fluent 47. His partner, Aamer Sohail crunched 69. Their 96-run partnership set such a strong base that offspinner Rajesh Chauhan's three-wicket haul, which included the dismissals of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saleem Malik in one over, couldn't stop Pakistan's momentum. Basit Ali's 57-ball 58 gave the finishing touches and Pakistan posted 250.

India started the chase poorly. Ajay Jadeja was dismissed in Wasim Akram's first over, and despite 59 in 11 overs from Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Sidhu, they slumped to 83 for 4. Vinod Kambli found an ally in Atul Bedade, who overcame a nervous start in his fourth international match to score 44 from 45 balls, with four sixes. But he was caught attempting another six and the last five wickets could add only 48. Sohail claimed the player-of-the-match award for his 69, two wickets, and two catches, one of them in the covers to cut off Tendulkar in full flight.

Heartbreak for Misbah, joy for Dhoni

ICC World T20, 2007, Johannesburg

The Wanderers was buzzing. The first ever T20 World Cup had a dream finale. India batted first and Gautam Gambhir top scored with 75 off 54 balls, while at the death, a 20-year-old Rohit Sharma proved why he was rated so highly, blasting 30 not out from just 16 deliveries. India could have had more than their 157 for 5 but Umar Gul, Pakistan's go-to death bowler, kept the runs in check with his spell of 3 for 28.

Pakistan were jolted early in the chase but Imran Nazir countered with 33 runs off his first 13 balls. However, Robin Uthappa ran out Nazir with a direct-hit to bring India back. RP Singh picked up 3 for 26, Irfan Pathan ripped out the middle order with 3 for 16, but as long as Misbah-Ul-Haq was batting, the game was not over.

He expertly brought the equation down to 13 off six balls, and that's when MS Dhoni gave the ball to little-known Joginder Sharma. The first ball was a wide and the second was launched for six. With nerves jangling, Misbah, on 43, chose to scoop the third delivery. He miscued and Sreesanth held the catch at short fine leg. India won by five runs, kickstarting a T20 revolution, but Joginder never played for his country again.

Fakhar, Amir own The Oval

ICC Champions Trophy, 2017, London

Pakistan had barely scraped into the Champions Trophy. They were the lowest-ranked side and had already been comprehensively beaten by India earlier in the competition, and yet on June 18 they collectively came together under the captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed and played a perfect day of cricket.

Sent in to bat, they piled up 338 for 4. Fakhar Zaman, reprieved early by a Jasprit Bumrah no-ball, cashed in with a fearless 114 off 106 balls. Azhar Ali added 59, Babar Azam 46, and Mohammad Hafeez's unbeaten 57 off 37 provided the finishing kick.

India had the batters to chase that kind of target but Mohammad Amir bowled an opening spell to remember. In a fiery six-over burst, he ripped out Rohit Sharma for a duck, Virat Kohli for 5, and Shikhar Dhawan for 21. At 33 for 3, the final was almost done though Hardik Pandya tried to fight back by battering 76 from 43 balls.

Hardik was eventually run-out and the rest of the Indian innings folded quickly. Hasan Ali, with his three wickets, and Shadab Khan took two as India were bowled out for 158 in the 31st over. Pakistan's 180-run victory was the biggest margin ever in a ICC men's tournament final.