With Pakistan’s government lifting the ban on their team facing India, it now looks like the scheduled T20 encounter, set to take place on Friday, will go ahead as intended. That is great news for cricket and for neutral fans of the game.

Undoubtedly the match will generate massive interest and a huge television audience. As is always the case when these two bitter rivals face each other, there is so much more than just cricket on the line.

In total, India and Pakistan have faced each other 16 times in T20 cricket. Thirteen of those games have been at neutral venues and none of those games have been in Pakistan.

Three times they have faced each other in India, with Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Kolkata each hosting a game.

The concern for Pakistan will be their record against their big rivals – they have avoided defeat in just four of the 16 games against India. Let’s take a moment to remember the four occasions when Pakistan managed to hold their nerve.

1. Durban, 2007: Match tied

The inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa saw Pakistan and India lock horns at Durban. This was the first time the two rivals had ever met in a T20 game, and it was played in Durban, a city that boasts the largest concentration of Indian people outside of India.

The match ended in a dramatic tie, leaving both sides with memories of a pulsating contest. India batted first and scored a solid 141 for nine with Robin Uthappa top scoring with 50 from 39 balls.

Pakistan’s chase started badly but Misbah-ul-Haq, batting at six scored 53 before being run out from the last ball of the game as he looked to complete the winning run.

There were no super overs back in 2007, so the game ended tied, leaving some of the big names of the past, including Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh to share the spoils.

2. Bengaluru, 2012: Pakistan win by five wickets with two balls remaining

Pakistan toured India in 2012 for a series that included two T20Is and three ODIs. It was a good trip for Pakistan who won the ODI series 2-1 and drew the T20 series. The Bengaluru win came in the first game of the tour which was played on Christmas day on a tricky track.

The Bengaluru surface was good once batsmen were set, but it proved tricky to get going with only two batsmen from each side making it past ten runs.

For India, who lost the toss and were asked to bat first, it was openers Gautam Gambhir (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (42) who got going. For Pakistan it was Mohammad Hafeez (61) and Shoaib Malik (57) who got going, steering their team to victory with two balls to spare.

3. Dubai, 2021: Pakistan win by 10 wickets with 13 balls remaining

The T20 World Cup fixture in Dubai saw Pakistan deliver one of their most emphatic victories over India.

Facing a powerful Indian side that included stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant the Pakistan bowlers did well to restrict their rivals to a score of 151 for seven with Shaheen Shah Afridi doing the bulk of the damage with figures of three for 31.

But it wasn’t the bowling that won this game for Pakistan, it was two of their finest cricketers of the last decade who opened the batting that did the job.

In 2021 Babar Azam was at the height of his powers with Mohammad Rizwan not far behind. The duo was imperious as they returned scores of 68* and 79* respectively, cantering to a famous victory without ever being in serious trouble.

4. Dubai, 2022: Pakistan win by five wickets with one ball remaining

A year later, the teams met again in Dubai in what was a much more tightly contested Asia Cup encounter. As has been the case with each of their wins over India, Pakistan won the toss and opted to field first.

Virat Kohli was in good form as he stroked his way to 60 from 44 balls before being run out. India posted a useful total of 181 for seven.

It may have felt like déjà vu for India as Rizwan and Azam opened the batting and took the score to 22 in the fourth over. This time however Babar Azam was dismissed and suddenly India had a way into the game.

But Rizwan stood firm, posting a score of 71 from 51 balls as he shared stands with Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Nawaz for the second and third wickets.

Riwan fell before the job was done, but he had broken the back of the chase leaving Iftikhar Ahmed to scramble a quick two (the second taken as the fielder slipped) to long-on to secure the win with just one ball left to be bowled.