Pakistan and India will face each other in the ongoing Asia Cup on 14th September at Dubai.
Match Preview:
The India-Pakistan rivalry is back, but this time a new generation of players will be taking center stage. There will be no Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, or Rohit Sharma featuring in this high-octane clash.
The rivalry has been rejuvenated, especially given the recent escalation between the two countries after the Pahalgam attack.
India managed to pull off a win against Pakistan in the Champions League 2025, but this highly anticipated Asia Cup clash is set to unfold in just a few hours at the Dubai stadium.
Both sides will be playing their second game of the tournament. India started strong with a win over the UAE, while Pakistan overpowered Oman in their opening match.
India enter this contest as the favorites, with a well-balanced squad that covers all departments. While Suryakumar Yadav is yet to make his mark against Pakistan, much of the spotlight will be on Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma.
One of India’s biggest strengths lies in their all-rounders. Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube provide the side with excellent balance, contributing effectively with both bat and ball.
As for Pakistan, all eyes will be on their team combination. It remains to be seen if Haris Rauf will return to the XI in place of Faheem Ashraf, especially since the conditions in Dubai favor playing two spinners, Sufiyan and Abrar.
A major positive for Pakistan has been the resurgence of Mohammad Haris. After struggling in the tri-series, he finally found his rhythm in the middle order and delivered on the big stage.
AWith both sets of players facing each other for the very first time in T20I cricket, fans can expect an intriguing and closely fought contest ahead.
Probable Playing XI:
India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Hasan Nawaz, 6 Mohammad Haris (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Sufiyan Muqeem, 11 Abrar Ahmed
Heat-to-head record:
Pakistan and India have faced each other in 13 games out of which 10 have won by the team India.
Pitch and weather report:
Dubai does not have a high score. Over the past two years, or 36 Twenty20 matches, the average run rate in the first innings has been 7.7. During this time, spinners have been more frugal (7.03 vs. 8.36), but fast bowlers have taken more wickets (277 out of 441). Although there won’t be any rain, it will probably be extremely hot.
Where to Watch:
India: Sony Liv app and website (sonyliv.com).
Pakistan: Tamasha and Myco
Sri Lanka: Dialog ViU app
Bangladesh: Toffee and Tapmad.
UAE and Mena region: StarzPlay
Afghanistan: Toffee app and websites
