Ahead of the 2023 World Cup in India beginning on 5 October, reports on Friday emerged that only one team had not yet been granted visas to travel for the tournament; Pakistan. As a result, the team has had to delay its arrival in India until 27 September, just two days ahead of their warm-up match against New Zealand.
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Travel between India and Pakistan has always been difficult due to political tensions between the countries. This phenomenon has only escalated in recent years, after the terrorist attacks of 2008 in Mumbai.
But when was the last time Pakistan came to India for cricket, and what happened then?
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When was the last time Pakistan played in India?
Pakistan last visited India over 7 years ago, in order to participate in the T20 World Cup in 2016. The tournament was eventually an unsuccessful one for Shahid Afridi's side, as they managed just one win in four games, against Bangladesh and failed to qualify for the semifinals.
Afridi was the star in Pakistan's win, smashing 49 off 19 balls to take Pakistan to 201 batting first, before picking up the wickets of Tamim Iqbal and Sabbir Rahman to ensure Bangladesh's chase never got going. Thereafter, however, the team lost a low-scoring chase to arch-rivals India at Eden Gardens before failing to chase high scores of 180 and 193 against New Zealand and Australia.
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The last time Pakistan visited India for a bilateral series was in 2012/13 for a white-ball tour. The T20I series finished 1-1 as India won the opener in Ahmedabad thanks to Yuvraj Singh's belligerent 72, and Pakistan chased down 133 in Bengaluru three days later.
In the ODI series, Pakistan began on fire by reducing India to 29/5 in the opener in Chennai before MS Dhoni's century ensured a respectable total of 227. The visitors chased the score down in 48.1 overs, before recording a comprehensive 85-run victory in Kolkata. India managed a 10-run consolation win in Delhi in the third match.
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Pakistan have not toured India for a Test match since 2007, when the sides drew in Bengaluru.
Who will win the World Cup?
Pakistan are among the top five favourites for the 2023 World Cup title. The odds from Dafabet are as follows.
| Team | Odds (Dafabet) |
|---|---|
| India | 3.25 |
| England | 4.50 |
| Australia | 5.00 |
| Pakistan | 8.00 |
| New Zealand | 9.00 |
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