Some of the most thrilling matchups in sports are between nations or athletes with historic rivalries, which creates even more anticipation and drama.
These rivalries in cricket range from sour relationships born out of decades of conflict, to colonial history and newly formed hatreds.
The ICC T20 World Cup will see some of these top rivalries being highlighted during the group stages of the tournament and possibly even the Super Eights.
Here are some of the most thrilling matchups in the game’s history.
India vs Pakistan
The clash is the biggest, fastest selling and most anticipated match of any multi-country cricket tournament.
The conflict began when India was divided into two countries under British colonial rule in 1947. Pakistan and India have fought three wars since then and diplomatic ties between the two countries remain largely strained.
In cricket, Pakistan have the advantage in head-to-head Test matches (12-9) and One Day Internationals (73-56), while India have the advantage in T20 matches (8-3).
In terms of World Cup history, India has the overwhelming advantage, with Pakistan having never beaten India in the ICC ODI World Cup in eight encounters and winning just once in seven T20 World Cup encounters.
The last time they met in the Cricket World Cup on October 14, India won by a commanding seven wickets at Ahmedabad’s largest cricket stadium, again with India emerging victorious.
The South Asian rivals will face off at New York’s new Nassau County Stadium on Saturday, June 9, in front of a sellout crowd of at least 34,000.
Australia v England
Cricket’s oldest rivalry dates back to the 1800s and was famously sparked by British newspapers writing condescending and racist articles about the Australian cricket team.
In 1882, the British tabloid newspaper The Sporting Times published a mock obituary for the England cricket team after the team’s defeat to their transcontinental rivals, stating that “the bodies [of English cricket] He will be cremated and his ashes will be shipped to Australia.”
This resentment originated in Test cricket and surfaced during the Ashes Test series but has carried over into all sporting encounters between the two countries.
The two teams have met nine times in Cricket World Cup history, with Australia winning six times and England winning three times.
England’s first T20 World Cup victory also came in 2010, when they beat Australia in the final in the West Indies. Their second victory came in Australia, where they defeated Pakistan.
The T20 Cup 2024 match between Australia and England is scheduled to be held in Barbados on June 8.
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
It started in 2018 with dance, specifically the ‘Nagin Dance’.
Bangladesh bowler Nazmul Islam had been performing the nagin (cobra in Hindi) dance to celebrate wicket wins for some time, and he performed it again after all four of his wickets in his team’s T20 series win over Sri Lanka in January 2018.
Sri Lanka’s Danushka Gunathilaka was not pleased with this snake-like performance and delivered a performance of his own mocking Islam as he got out two Bangladesh batsmen.
A few months later, the celebrations were highlighted during the triangular Nidahas Trophy, which India also participated in. When Bangladesh recorded their second victory against hosts Sri Lanka, the entire team broke out into a rousing “Nagin Dance” celebration on the pitch.
2018 – Bangladesh’s Nagin Celebration after beating Sri Lanka in the Nidahas Trophy.
2022 – Nagin celebration by Chamika Karunaratne after beating Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. pic.twitter.com/Po7yhyeAb5
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 1, 2022
The night ended with glass being broken in the visiting team’s dressing room, and nothing has changed since.
Every time the two teams face off, provocative placards are displayed in the stands and a vicious atmosphere of celebration spreads on the field.
In ODI cricket, Sri Lanka have won 42 of the 53 ODI encounters between the two countries while Bangladesh have won nine. Bangladesh also have the upper hand in the ODI World Cup with four wins from five matches.
Sri Lanka have beaten Bangladesh twice in T20 World Cup encounters, but in the 2024 edition in Dallas, Bengal Tigers held off Sri Lankan Lions with a thrilling two-wicket win.
Afghanistan vs Pakistan
Afghanistan and Pakistan have had a complex geopolitical and cultural relationship for decades, and the border between the two countries is fragile and subject to frequent violence and sudden blockades.
Political tensions have spilled over into bitter on-field rivalries, especially over the past few years as Afghanistan has rapidly built a reputation as a world powerhouse.
Several members of the early Afghanistan cricket team, including former captains Gulbuddin Naib and Mohammed Nabi, took up the sport while living in Pakistan as refugees during decades of war and turmoil in their home country.
The Pakistan National Cricket Academy in Lahore hosted the players’ training sessions, and some of the early coaching staff of the Afghanistan team were also from Pakistan.
But historical tensions between the two nations have often surfaced when the two teams meet in recent years. Pakistan leads its neighbours 7-1 in ODI cricket and 4-2 in T20 internationals, but has recently finished in favour of Pakistan on the final ball of matches.
Fast bowler Naseem Shah has been a constant thorn in Afghanistan’s side, twice bringing Pakistan to victory when defeat seemed certain.
This combination of history and a last-ball finish ultimately led to tempers erupting between fans of both teams. Things got particularly ugly after Afghanistan fans vandalized the stadium and hurled chairs at Pakistani fans after losing a thrilling match in the 2022 Asia Cup. This came after tempers erupted on the pitch when Pakistan batsman Asif Ali angrily swung his bat at Afghanistan bowler Fareed Ahmad.
Afghanistan’s defeat of Pakistan in the ODI World Cup in India in November sparked wild celebrations on the field and in Afghanistan.
The two teams could face each other at the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup if they qualify.
Australia v India
Two of the sport’s “Big Three” have been competing against each other since the 1940s, but the matchup picked up steam in the 1980s and became a full-blown rivalry in the 2000s.
Most of the heated exchanges and thrilling encounters have taken place in Test cricket’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy, especially since the famous Eden Gardens Test match in 2001, which India came from behind to win by two wickets.
A heated argument between Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds led to the famous “Monkeygate” scandal, which saw Singh suspended for the series, before the suspension was later lifted.
In recent years, the two teams have faced each other in the Cricket World Cup in the knockout stages of the tournament.
In 2011, India won the World Cup on home soil, beating Australia by five wickets in a closely fought quarter-final match.
Four years later, Australia returned the favour by winning comfortably by 95 runs in Sydney to claim their fifth World Cup title. The two teams opened the 2023 season in a thrilling encounter in Chennai on Sunday, with India winning by six wickets after a shaky start to the run-chase.
Australia still has a better record in 150 ODI matches with 83 wins compared to India’s 50. Five-time champions Australia have also won eight of the 13 Cricket World Cup encounters while India have won five.
In T20Is, India have won 19 of the 31 encounters while Australia have won 11.
The two teams could face each other in the Super Eights at the 2024 T20 World Cup if they qualify.
