India vs Pakistan, ‘nagin dance’, Ashes : A look at cricket’s top rivalries

A bloody partition, a mock obituary, cross-border tensions and a serpentine dance – cricket has a history of bitter rivalries.

Some of the most thrilling encounters in sport have been between nations or athletes with historic rivalries that add an extra layer of anticipation and drama.

In cricket, these rivalries range from sour relations stemming from decades-old conflicts to colonial history and some newly-formed bitterness.

The ICC T20 World Cup will highlight some of these top rivalries as in the tournament’s group stage and, perhaps, the Super Eights.

Here is a look at some of the most thrilling match-ups in the history of the game:

The clash that has been the biggest, quickest-selling and most anticipated match of every multilateral cricket tournament.

The rivalry originated in 1947 when India was partitioned into two countries following British colonial rule. Pakistan and India have since fought three wars, and diplomatic ties between both countries have mostly remained bitter.

On the cricket field, the head-to-head record favours Pakistan in Test matches (12-9) and one-day internationals (73-56) while India have the upper hand in T20 matches (8-3).

When it comes to World Cup history, the scale is heavily tilted in India’s favour. Pakistan have never beaten India in the ICC ODI World Cup in their eight meetings and have only won once in their seven encounters in the T20 World Cup.

Their last clash, at the Cricket World Cup on October 14, went India’s way again as romped to a seven-wicket win at biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

The South Asian rivals will meet at New York’s newly-built Nassau County Stadium on Saturday, June 9 in front of a sell-out crowd of at least 34,000.

The oldest rivalry in the game –