In terms of intensity and temperament, there are certainly a few cricketing rivalries in the world that can match an India-Pakistan game. Whenever these two neighbouring countries have taken the field, fans have witnessed a number of heated moments over the years. Now, former Pakistan cricketer Kamral Akmal, while speaking on the YouTube channel Nadir Ali Podcast, recalled one such scenario which transpired during a 2012 T20 International in Bengaluru.
According to Akmal, India pacer Ishant Sharma used some unpleasant words against him, which led to the situation. The Pakistan wicketkeeper batter reacted with the same magnitude before India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni came forward to settle the matter.
It was the first T20I of the two-match series and Pakistan was dominating the proceeding. Batting first, India could only produce 133 runs. Though it looked like an easy assignment for the visitors, Indian bowlers made things quite difficult for them. However, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik showed great composure and steered them close to victory.
Pakistan were 16 runs behind the target when Ishant Sharma came to bowl the 18th over. He managed to get rid of Hafeez in the first ball. After the captain’s dismissal, Karman came in as the new batter. After facing his first delivery of the match, the wicketkeeper-batter was seen exchanging some words with Ishant. Apart from Dhoni, Suresh Raina also interfered and tried to cool them down.
Referring to the incident, Kamral said, “Ishant abused me. But he also digested plenty in reply. MS Dhoni, who was the captain then, came between us along with Suresh Raina. They settled it down. India were going to lose the match and it happened in a heat of the moment.” He also lauded Hafeez and Malik for their match-winning contributions. Hafeez scored a 44-ball 61, while Malik remained unbeaten at 57 off 50 deliveries, helping Pakistan register a 5-wicket victory.
During the podcast session, Kamran was also asked about the 2009 episode between him and Gautam Gambhir. Reminiscing about the incident, the former cricketer marked it as a “misunderstanding,” saying, “If I am not wrong, he said that to himself, but I felt it was directed towards me.” “It was an Asia Cup match in 2009. Saeed Ajmal bowled and there was an appeal for caught-behind from me. It was given not out. Gambhir said something in a hilarious way, but only because of the hype around the India-Pakistan matches,” he explained.
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