Ten ODI matches planned between India and Pakistan within the year

A tense confrontation between India and Pakistan is set to take place within the men's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026 tournament. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has released the match schedule for this tournament, which will be held in Doha.

The India-A and Pakistan-A teams have been placed in the same group. India-A will begin its campaign on November 20 with a match against Nepal. Then, on November 22, India-A will play against Pakistan-A at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium. India-A's final group stage match is scheduled for November 24 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Eight teams will participate in the tournament, divided into two groups. Group A includes Sri Lanka-A, Bangladesh-A, Afghanistan-A, and Hong Kong. Group B comprises India-A, Pakistan-A, Nepal, and the UAE. Each team will play one match against three other teams in its group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-finals will take place on November 26 and 27, with the final scheduled for November 29.

Most of the tournament games will be held at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium, including the final match. However, some matches are slated for the Doha University of Science and Technology (UDST) cricket ground. The tournament will open on November 19 at the same venue.

In the 2025 season, India-A was captained by Jitesh Sharma, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi was also part of the team. At that time, India-A started strongly, defeating the UAE by 148 runs, but lost to Pakistan-A by eight runs in the next match. Following this, India-A beat Oman by six runs and advanced to the semi-finals. The match against Bangladesh-A ended in a draw, which was decided in a super over where India could not secure a victory.

For their part, Pakistan-A defeated Sri Lanka-A in the semi-finals by 5 runs. Pakistan-A then won the title by beating Bangladesh-A in the final in a super over. Now, India-A in the 2026 edition has a chance to overcome the disappointment of the previous tournament and demonstrate strength in the match against Pakistan.

In the second T20 match, taking place at Hagley Oval in Christchurch against New Zealand, Indian bowlers demonstrated strong play. This match is set to go down in Indian cricket history.

This encounter marks the 300th international T20 match for the Indian men's team. Because of this, India has become the second team in the world to have played 300 or more matches in the shortest format of cricket. Currently, Pakistan leads this ranking with 304 matches.

In this match, India's captain Shreyas Iyer decided to start with bowling after the toss. If the young Indian team can defeat the New Zealand side today, it will set a unique record in cricket history that no other team has managed to achieve.

Across all 299 T20 matches played, India has secured 199 victories, excluding super over matches. If India wins the second match, it will become the first team in the world to win 200 T20 international games.

Due to the right thigh injury of Ishan Kishan, who was withdrawn from the squad, the team management made significant changes to the starting lineup. Young talent Vaibhav Suryavanshi earned a spot in the team, although he will have to wait to open, as the team retained its previous starting lineup, and Vaibhav was placed at the third position.

The history of confrontations between Indian and Pakistani teams has always been characterized by an atmosphere of high tension and spectacular clashes, including verbal battles between players.

October 20 marks the 48th birthday of Virendra Sehwag, a former opening batsman for the Indian national team. Throughout his 14-year career, Sehwag demonstrated mastery, dealing significant damage to many prominent world cricketers.

Sehwag usually played at his own pace on the field, but when any player tried to throw him off balance, he responded to provocations both verbally and with his bat.

One of the well-known and memorable episodes involves Pakistan's fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. During one match, Akhtar attempted to disrupt the Indian batsmen with his speed, but Sehwag successfully directed his balls all over the field.

Annoyed by this, Akhtar began bowling constant bouncers at Sehwag, constantly teasing him with the phrase: 'If you can, show me a hook shot.' Sehwag, who was playing openly, singing and whistling, soon realized that Akhtar was provoking him.

Initially, Sehwag responded calmly, asking if he was bowling or begging. However, when Akhtar insisted and challenged him to play a hook shot, Sehwag gave him a harsh reply that is still discussed in cricket circles.

Responding decisively to Akhtar, Sehwag pointed towards the non-striker's end and stated that his father was standing there. He challenged: 'If you dare, ask him, he will play a hook shot.' At that moment, Sachin Tendulkar, the Master Blaster, was at the non-striker's end.

After this, when Sachin came to the crease, Akhtar bowled another bouncer at him, which Sachin brilliantly deflected and sent out of the stadium for a sixteen runs. After this powerful shot, Sehwag approached Shoaib Akhtar and mockingly said: 'Son, son remains a son, and father remains a father.'

Virendra Sehwag's international career was exceptionally successful. Analyzing his Test results, it is clear that he scored 8586 runs in 180 innings played in 104 matches, with an impressive average of 49.34. His best individual score was 319 runs. In Tests, he maintained an aggressive style of play, scoring 23 centuries and 32 half-centuries at a strike rate of 82.23, and hitting 1233 fours and 91 sixes.

In One-Day International (ODI) format, Sehwag also displayed magnificent play. In 245 innings played in 251 ODI matches, he earned 8273 runs with an average of 35.05 and an explosive strike rate of 104.33, including his double century (maximum 219 runs). In ODIs, he scored 15 centuries and 38 half-centuries, and hit 1132 fours and 136 sixes.

Furthermore, in 19 T20 International matches, he scored 394 runs at a strike rate of 145.38.