Two nations are born

August 14, 1947: Pakistan becomes Independent
August 15, 1947: India becomes Independent
An estimated two hundred thousand to two million die during the Partition. Thousands more – including past and future cricketers – are displaced.
On August 15, a camp is held at Poona for Independent India’s first tour, in Australia that winter. Fazal Mahmood travels from Lahore – against the migration for a Muslim. The practice sessions are washed out. On his way back, he is attacked by rioters on the train. CK Nayudu, present at the spot, defends him with a cricket bat. Fazal returns home to become Pakistan’s first great fast bowler and emerge as an idol.
This has long-standing effects.Pakistan become a fast-bowling nation. India’s early legacy is built around world-class spinners, Vinoo Mankad and Ghulam Ahmed, followed by Subhash Gupte.

Early interactions

October 1947: First Kashmir War (goes on until the ceasefire on January 1, 1949). India get roughly two-thirds of Jammu & Kashmir. The rest go to Pakistan.

1949/50: A Commonwealth XI tours the Indian subcontinent.
March 4:Ceylon, India and Pakistan Combined XI play against the tourists at Colombo.

1951/52: MCC (England) tours the subcontinent. India win their first Test, but just as significantly, a representative Pakistan side beat the MCC as well. Leading them is former Indian Test cricketer Abdul Hafeez Kardar. He is unbeaten when the winning runs are scored. The win plays a crucial role towards Pakistan’s claim at ICC Full membership.

July 28, 1952: At the ICC meeting, the BCCI proposes Pakistan as a new Full Member. Pakistan become the newest Full Member.

The first matches

1952/53: Pakistan tour India by road for their first ever Test series. Some of them return to cities and homes they had left behind only a few years ago. The first match is against North Zone at Amritsar. Hanif Mohammad, whose family had crossed the border during Partition, scores a hundred in each innings.
October 16-18: Mankad takes 13 wickets as India win the first ever Test between the sides. Leading India is Lala Amarnath, who had grown up in Lahore. Apart from Kardar, the Pakistan XI has another former Indian Test cricketer, Amir Elahi. During the Test, the Delhi crowd taunts the Pakistanis. Fazal vows to avenge the defeat.
October 23-26: Pakistan win their first ever Test, on a jute-matting wicket in Lucknow. Fazal takes 12 wickets.
November 13-16: Mankad takes eight as India go 2-1 up.
From this point, both teams adopt a safety-first approach in Test cricket. The next decided Test between the two teams will be more than a quarter of a century later.

1954/55: India tour Pakistan for the first time and play a 0-0 draw across five painstakingly boring Tests with both sides eliminating all risk. The first match, Pakistan's first home Test, is at Dacca, which will later host Bangladesh’s first home Test. Kardar delivers a speech during (or after) this Test that results in some acrimony, but the tour is played out in peace. Two daily special trains carry Indian fans to Pakistan.

October 31, 1956: Having played four Tests for Independent India, Gul Mohammad plays for Pakistan against Australia at Karachi.

September 9, 1960: Pakistan beat India in the final at the Rome Olympics to win the gold medal at field hockey. This ends India’s unbeaten streak that had started in 1928. India would avenge this in the 1964 final, but have won only one gold since.

1960/61: Pakistan return to India. Once again, the two teams play five dull draws. “The chief aim of the contestants appeared to be to uphold national prestige by avoiding defeat rather than to take the risk of trying to enforce a decision. Cricket was a secondary interest,” notes the Wisden Almanack.

Things fall apart

August 5 – September 23, 1965: India-Pakistan War. Thousands of lives are lost but there is no territorial change.

December 3-16, 1971: India-Pakistan War
March 25: In the aftermath of the Civil War in East Pakistan, Pakistan president Yahya Khan initiates Operation Searchlight. The atrocities are classified as a genocide.
March 26: Bangladesh declares Independence from Pakistan. India assists with the organisation and training of the Mukti Bahini, the guerilla army of the revolutionaries of the Bangladesh Liberation War.
English summer: Both teams tour England for Test series and their players interact. Back home, India faces a choice between going to War against Pakistan and keep accepting East Pakistan refugees.
December 3: The Pakistan Air Force attacks India. India formally enters the War. Pakistan appeals to the UN for a ceasefire.
December 16: India wins the War. Lt Col Shujauddin Butt, who had played Test cricket for Pakistan, spends 18 months in India as a Prisoner of War.

Resumption

March 15, 1975: In an intense final at Kuala Lumpur, India come from 0-1 to beat Pakistan 2-1 to win their first World Cup in field hockey.

February 9, 1978: India and Pakistan begin their first hockey Test series, with games in Bombay, Bangalore, Lahore, and Karachi amidst much fan following. The first game, at the Wankhede Stadium, attains cult status after being a major plot point in the Bollywood movie Gol Maal.

1978/79: India return to Pakistan, bilateral ties resume. The captains are former Northamptonshire colleagues Mushtaq Mohammad and Bishan Singh Bedi. Unlike some teams, Pakistan include the cricketers who had featured in Kerry Packer’s World Series. Wisden Almanack observes “the warmth and enthusiasm with which the Indians were received, plus the cordial relations between the players,” but Bedi later spoke about“the extreme hostility from the public and the media – and the umpires.”
Pakistan win 2-0. The tour is the first of several others over the next decade and a bit. Sunil Gavaskar has a run-in with Shakoor Rana when the latter warns Mohinder Amarnath for stepping into the “danger zone”. Rana refuses to take the field unless Gavaskar apologises. Gavaskar agrees.
November 3: At Sahiwal, Bedi becomes the first to concede an ODI (or international match) after, while defending a steep target, the umpires ignore very high bouncers bowled by Sarfraz Nawaz beyond the reach of even the tall Anshuman Gaekwad.

1979/80: Pakistan come to India for six Tests. India win 2-0.
At the toss at Calcutta, Asif Iqbal calls, picks up the coin before Gundappa Viswanath can see, and tells that India have won the toss. After the Test, Asif’s last, Eden Gardens gives Asif a standing ovation.

April 3, 1981: Hanif and Asif get a benefit match between SM Gavaskar’s XI (India) and Javed Miandad’s XI (Pakistan) at a new venue – Sharjah. Over the next decade and a bit, Sharjah would become synonymous with India-Pakistan ODIs.

1982/83: Pakistan beat India 3-0 at home as complaints over Pakistani umpires continue. At Karachi, Test cricket sees its first truly great display of reverse swing in Imran’s famous burst of 5-3 (eventually 8-60). India collapse from 102-1 to 114-7.

Building bridges

June 25, 1983: BCCI president NKP Salve asks for extra passes for the World Cup final that India would win. Denied by the MCC, Salve vows to move the World Cup out of England. He gets on board Nur Khan and Gamini Dissanayake, his Pakistan and Sri Lanka counterparts.

September 19, 1983: The Asian Cricket Conference (now Council) is formed in New Delhi with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Singapore as founding members. The Asian bloc begins to take shape.

1983/84: Pakistan tour India. Defensive draws resume. In a yawnathon at Bangalore, Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas walks off the ground on the final evening: the Indian openers stay put, so the Pakistanis have to return.

April 6-13, 1984: The first Asia Cup is held in Sharjah.

April 13, 1984: On the last day of the tournament, the Indian Army assumes control of Siachen Glacier with Operation Meghdoot. The Siachen Conflict begins, but cricket is not immediately affected.

July 18, 1984: India and Pakistan pitch for the 1987 World Cup at the ICC meeting – the first step towards an Asian surge in cricket.

August 11, 1984: Pakistan win their last gold medal at field hockey in the Olympics. Once the powerhouses of the sport, neither team is yet to make an appearance in the final since then.

October 31, 1984: Indira Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi as India are playing Pakistan in an ODI. The tour is called off immediately.

March 10, 1985: India beat Pakistan in the first final between the sides to win the seven-nation World Championship of Cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where a banner reads “World Cup final – Tram Conductors vs Bus Drivers”.

April 18, 1986: Miandad famously hits Chetan Sharma for six in the Austral-Asia Cup final. The last 8 ODIs had been 6-2 in India’s favour, but it would flip to 22-5 for Pakistan until Miandad’s retirement.

November 7, 1986: Responding to Imran’s long-standing request, the Pakistan board has finally allowed neutral umpires. Two Indians, Piloo Reporter and VK Ramaswamy, become the first neutral officials in Test cricket since 1912. They stand in the Pakistan-West Indies Lahore Test.

1986/87: The teams draw their 11th consecutive Test at Ahmedabad, where Gavaskar gets his 10,000th run. The crowd pelts stones at the Pakistan fielders on the fourth afternoon. Play resumes after Gavaskar and captain Kapil Dev request for calm, but the Pakistanis field in helmets near the boundary line. Pakistan take the series 1-0 with a win in Bangalore. Imran and Gavaskar appear in an iconic Thums Up commercial.

1987: India and Pakistan co-host a World Cup.

1989: Pakistan wins the six-nation Nehru Cup in India. Eden Gardens cheers as Wasim Akram hits the winning six off the last ball.

1989/90: Over the course of the tour, Sarfraz spills the secrets of reverse swing to Manoj Prabhakar. The craft crosses the border.
December 20: The Karachi ODI is called off after 14.3 overs due to stone pelting from the crowd.

In distant lands

1990/91: India host the Asia Cup. The relation between the two countries, particularly the Siachen Conflict, is strained enough for Pakistan to opt out.

March 4, 1992: India beat Pakistan in their first World Cup clash. Throughout the 1990s, the teams would continue to play ODIs across the world.

February 3, 1993: PILCOM (Pak-Indo-Lanka Joint Management Committee) win the bid for the 1996 World Cup that was virtually decided to be played in England.

1993: Pakistan opt out of the CAB Jubilee Cup (Hero Cup) in India.

1996: India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka co-host a World Cup.
February 13: When Australia and the West Indies refuse to tour Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan send a combined team to play Sri Lanka at Colombo. “This proves to the world we're all together. There’s nothing wrong as far as sport is concerned,” says Pakistan captain Wasim Akram. “This is history,” adds Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who leads this combined side.
March 9: India beat Pakistan in the quarter-final in Bangalore after Wasim withdraws at the last moment. His house in Lahore is attacked by a mob and his effigy is burnt. He goes into hiding.

September 14, 1996: India and Pakistan start playing the Sahara “Friendship” Cup, an annual bilateral 5-match ODI series, in Toronto.

Mid-1997: Pakistan tour India for the Independence Cup.

End-1997: India tour Pakistan for three ODIs. Their first visit to the country in eight years.

1998/99: Pakistan tour India for three Tests. The Shiv Sena threaten to release snakes at Delhi if the Test goes on. The state association responds by placing snake charmers in the stands.
January 31: After Pakistan win the Madras Test, Wasim leads his side into a victory lap and the crowd applauds. The Calcutta Test, part of the inaugural Asian Test Championship, is interrupted by crowd violence after Tendulkar gets a poor dismissal.

War, again

May 3 – July 26, 1999: Kargil War.

June 8, 1999: India play Pakistan at the World Cup in the backdrop of the War. There are “three arrests, nine ejections, and one Indian flag burned during some scuffling at the close”.

End-1999: Toronto hosts India and Pakistan, but for separate series against the West Indies. However, the teams play in two tri-series – in Australia and Sharjah – in early 2000.

2000–03: No cricket between the sides.

December 13, 2001: Terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi. A heavy standoff follows on both sides of the Line of Control until June 10, 2002.

March 1, 2003: A high-octane World Cup clash between the sides at the World Cup. In the section titled “Battlefield Centurion” in his autobiography, Sachin Tendulkar admitted to being unable to sleep properly for three nights before the game: “If there was ever a match we wanted to win, it was this one. The nation would brook no failure and for many of our fans this was the true final. It really did not matter to them what happened in the rest of the tournament, as long as we managed to beat Pakistan at Centurion.”

2003: Ceasefire at Siachen, though both sides maintain heavy armies.

Reunion and skirmishes

Early 2004: India’s first Test series in Pakistan in 14 years, billed as the Friendship Series, goes ahead after a security team sent by the Indian government okays it. India win both the ODIs and the Tests on a tour that is celebrated mostly for the camaraderie.

November 13, 2004: Eden Gardens hosts an India-Pakistan ODI as part of the BCCI’s 75-year celebrations.

2005: Pakistan tour India. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is booed in Bengaluru after the tourists level the Test series 1-1. Pakistan come from 0-2 to win the ODIs 4-2.

February 26, 2006: The last hockey Test between India and Pakistan till date, at Rawalpindi, is drawn 3-3. Pakistan take the series 3-1.

April 30, 2006: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh win hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup.

September 30, 2006: Uttar Pradesh beat Sialkot in the first edition of the Nissar Trophy, between the champions of the Ranji Trophy and the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, in Dharamsala.

2006-07: India tour Pakistan. Lose the Tests 0-1 but win the ODIs 4-1.

February 18, 2007: Two blasts in Samjhauta Express connecting Delhi and Lahore.

September 11, 2007: Mumbai beat Karachi Urban on first-innings lead in Nissar Trophy in Karachi.

September 24, 2007: India beat Pakistan in a World Cup final for the first time, in the new, shortest format, T20.

2007-08: Pakistan tour India for Tests and ODIs. India won the Tests 1-0 and the ODIs 3-2.

February 20, 2008: The first IPL auction features several Pakistani cricketers.

March 23, 2008: Schedule for 2008 Champions Trophy in Pakistan announced. It will be played from September 13 to September 28.

June-July 6, 2008: Pakistan host the Asia Cup for the first time immediately after the IPL. Sri Lanka beat India in the final.

August 24, 2008: ICC pull Champions Trophy 2008 out of Pakistan after South Africa opt out and England, Australia, New Zealand are “expected to follow”.

September 18, 2008: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited beat Delhi (first-innings lead) in Nissar Trophy at Delhi.

Beginning of the end

November 26–28, 2008: Terrorist attacks devastate Mumbai. Several members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba launch multiple attacks on the city. The death toll is at least 174. The relation between the two countries deteriorates rapidly.

December 18, 2008: India call off Pakistan tour of early 2009.

February 2, 2009: Pakistan blocks IPL participation for its players. On February 6, the auctions are held after Pakistani cricketers are released.

March 2, 2009: Terrorist attack on the bus of the Sri Lankan team, who were touring Pakistan in lieu of India. Barring the odd exception, international teams do not tour Pakistan over nearly a decade.

April 18, 2009: World Cup 2011 matches moved out of Pakistan. Organising committee headquarters moved from Lahore to Mumbai.

January 19, 2010: The IPL auctions are held. The Pakistani cricketers are listed, but no franchise bids for them.

March 30, 2011: India and Pakistan play a high-octane World Cup semi-final. The two heads of state are in attendance.

2012/13: The last bilateral series between the sides. Since then, they have met only at the various tournaments organised by the ICC and the ACC.

Now

Pakistan tour India for the 2013 Women’s World Cup, the 2016 Women’s and Men’s T20 World Cups, and the 2023 Men’s World Cup amidst utmost security.

Over this period, India have beaten Pakistan at the 2015, 2019, and 2023 Men’s World Cups; the 2013, 2017, and 2022 Women’s World Cups; the 2016 and 2022 T20 Men’s World Cups; the 2014, 2018, 2016, and 2024 Women’s T20 World Cups; and the league games of the 2017 and 2025 Champions Trophy. Pakistan’s only wins have come in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup, and the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup.

Following India’s refusal to tour Pakistan, the designated hosts, for the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, both tournaments follow hybrid models. According to an ICC statement, the teams will meet at neutral venues for subsequent global tournaments.