The men’s T20 world cup is upon us, and it’s the best time for cricket fans around the world. The excitement and action-packed games will commence from the 17th of Oct in Oman and UAE. 16 teams, 45 encounters, and only the best team will be crowned the T20I champion. Fans and people from the cricket fraternity have already picked their favorite team for the tournament. Tickets of the most anticipated encounters sold out within days. Talking about most awaited encounters, here’s a list of five that you shouldn’t be missing out

Awaited Encounter Of Ashes Rivals England, Australia

Discussing the most awaited encounter in cricket, Australia and England will be the first to be named in it. As all cricket fans know, England and Australia are rivals in cricket. 

So all cricket fans will be looking forward to this match in the T20I World Cup 2021. The match will be held on 30th October.

Looking at the past T20I records of both teams, Australia’s weight seems heavy; both teams have played eighteen matches in which Australia have won 10 matches and England have 8.

But it should not be said that England is currently the world champion of one-day cricket and runners-up of the 2016 edition. This will be one of the most awaited encounters in the T20I World Cup 2021.

Pakistan VS Afghanistan: An Unearthed Rivalry

The world of cricket is decorated by some of the most famous rivalries such as that of India-Pakistan. But when running sight across the cricketing world, one can see some more blazing rivalries getting developed. 

One of them is the most underrated one between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Both of them last played each other in ICC Cricket World cup 2019, at LEEDS. That was one nail-biting match, which unfortunately ended up quite sadly, due to a fight that broke out among the fans. 

The foundation of the Pak-Afghan rivalry was laid down in their encounter in the Asia cup. As the Afghan players such as Rashid Khan etc. took up battles against Pakistani batsmen. Rivalries develop through the process of evolution; such is the example of Pakistan vs Afghanistan. 

Hence, all of these recent incidents and nerve-wracking encounters among both teams have increased the importance of the match between them in the upcoming T20I World Cup. This awaited encounter, happening on the 29th of Oct, must be given the attention it needs and the rivalry will show its color. 

Awaited Encounter of 2016 World T20 Finalists

England West Indies Another long-awaited encounter since 2016. West Indies defeated England in the 2016 World T20I final. That final is still a nightmare for England which is why England fans and their players eagerly await this match. The match will be played on October 23rd.

Looking at the past competition of both the teams, then the weight of West Indies seems heavy. West Indies have beaten England eleven times in the past and lost only seven. As far as the T20I World Cup is concerned, the West Indies have not left England unworthy they beat England five out of five

Now, looking at the current form and lineup of both the teams, the competition seems challenging. Hence this will be another most awaited encounter in ICC T20I World Cup 2021.

Pakistan vs New Zealand: An Awaited Clash

The cricketing history between New Zealand and Pakistan has been quite friendly. There was no such rivalry that could make the clash between both countries in the World T20I, a talk of the town. But what happened during the last 4 weeks, forced it to be not only the talk of the town but also of the whole cricketing community. The fact that this awaited encounter in world T20I 2021 has gained any attention is due to the reason for tour cancellation.

Earlier, New Zealand was scheduled to play Pakistan on 17 Sept at Rawalpindi. But a few minutes before the start of the first ODI, New Zealand single-handedly without even discussing with PCB, canceled the tour on baseless security reasons. Hence a sense of rage and accountability ran over all the nation for New Zealand opting out of the series. 

NZC has informed PCB that they had been alerted to a security alert and have uncertainly decided to postpone the series.

Despite all the security assurance promised by the PM, NZC still decided to cancel it. The series is called off.#PAKvNZ | #Cricket | #GreenTeam pic.twitter.com/m573yYu8m7

— Green Team (@GreenTeam1992) September 17, 2021

Hence, Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chairman Ramiz Raja pumped the team Pakistan. He urged the Pakistan team to take revenge on the pitch. Hence the clash between both countries is now one of the most anticipated ones. It will take place on 26th October. 

All Time Cricket Rivals Pakistan and India

Set to hit the screens on 24th Oct is this world cup’s most considerable, most anticipated encounter. The Pakistan versus India match is the greatest rivalry to exist in the cricket world. Matches between Pakistan and India rarely happen apart from the ICC tournaments owing to the geopolitical differences between the two countries. But when they do occur, the two countries come to a standstill since people leave their work to watch the arch-rivals come face to face.

Pakistan and India have gone head-to-head in eight T20I matches outside of the world cup. Out of these eight matches, Pakistan managed to win only one, with one ending in a draw.

Looking at the Pakistan and India encounters during the ICC T20I World Cup, the stats look not so promising for Pakistan. Out of five encounters, Pakistan did not win a single match. During the T20I world cup in 2007 in South Africa, Pakistan faced India twice but lost both times. Similar stats are present in the 50-over world cup, where Pakistan could not win a single match out of seven. 

Will Pakistan change its fate, or would the other side be singing ‘mauka mauka’? Only time will tell. But watching the two rivals come face to face and play a thriller is every Pakistani and Indian cricket fan’s dream.

Related: Complete Squads of T20I World Cup 2021

Written By: Hafiz Ibtaihaj Yousuf, Irum Firdaus, and Abdul Raza