On the cricketing side of things, both India and Pakistan began their campaigns with crushing wins over UAE and Oman, respectively. Although Pakistan is known for their unpredictability, Team India's depth across facets and the presence of multi-faceted cricketers should be enough to squeeze their arch-rivals.
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Suryakumar Yadav finishes off things in style, lashes a six over leg-side to finish things off. India make it 2 out of 2 in Asia Cup 2025 and need only 15.5 overs to seal victory.
Saim Ayub strikes once again for Pakistan as Tilak Varma gets cleaned bowled chasing a wide delivery.
Tilak Varma and captain Suryakumar Yadav are looking in spectacular touch as India are getting close to the run chase.
That's the end of powerplay. India are sitting in a comfortable position as Pakistan are still looking for a 3rd wicket.
Alas! The aggressive batting of Abhishek Sharma comes to an end as he gets dismissed by Saim Ayub. Sharma gave India a perfect start but couldn't capitalize on it.
Saim Ayub knocks over Shubman Gill, though, with the new ball. Draws him forward and Mohammad Haris stumps the right-hander.
India begin their innings and Abhishek Sharma!!!! Outstanding start as he hammers his first two deliveries faced for 10 runs.
Pakistan finish on 127/9 after some late strikes from Afridi. Hit four sixes in total to give their side something to bowl at.
Bumrah gets his second. Sufiyan Muqeem makes too much room but Bumrah gets it spot on and hit the stumps.
Varun Chakravarthy now gets Faheem Ashraf 11 off 14 deliveries for his first wicket. Pakistan yet to reach 100.
Kuldeep Yadav gets his third!!! Sahibzada Farhan tries to clobber it for a six down the ground but Hardik Pandya completes a smart catch. The well-set Farhan departs for 40.
Kuldeep Yadav drops a catch off his own bowling! But it hardly matters as Hasan Nawaz offers another chance as Axar Patel completes a catch. Pakistan lose half their side and are 64/5. The googly now gets Mohammad Nawaz and Pakistan also lose their review.
Pakistan get a boundary after 33 deliveries. Farhan hits a six.
More trouble for Pakistan!!! Salman Ali Agha perishes for 3 off 12 deliveries. 2nd wicket for Axar Patel. At the halfway mark, the Men in Green are 49/4.
Pakistan saved by another good review. Skipper Salman Ali Agha takes the DRS after umpire gives out after a LBW shout by Varun Chakravarthy.
Axar Patel has struck!!! Fakhar Zaman is the man as Tilak Varma takes a skier. Zaman dances down the track and looks to go down the ground but can't clear the fence.
Pakistan gain some momentum now as Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan unleash boundaries and play calculated cricket.
Bumrah almost gets Fakhar Zaman as well in the same over but the left-hander saves himself with the DRS.
It's Jasprit Bumrah this time!!!! Mohammad Haris goes for 3 as Hardik Pandya makes a difficult catch looks very easy.
Hardik Pandya has struck second ball! Saim Ayub casually pushes the ball outside off and holes out to point. Jasprit Bumrah takes the easiest of catches.
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha has won the toss and opted to bat first in Dubai, citing the dry surface at the Dubai International Stadium. Both sides are also unchanged as they hope to establish supremacy at the cauldron.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed.
No handshake between Salman Ali Agha and Suryakumar Yadav. That sets things up for the rest of the night.
Suryakumar Yadav will also be massively in focus. Given he has struggled against Pakistan in the five innings he has played, will the Indian skipper produce the goods?
More than anything, Pakistan's litmus test will be to negotiate India's spin twins. Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. It will also notably be Kuldeep's first T20I against Pakistan and the left-arm wrist-spinner is hungrier, given he didn't play any Test in the series against England.
Less than half an hour to go for the high-profile toss.
Will Team India stick to the same playing XI? Arshdeep Singh's exclusion created plenty of ripples but it hardly mattered against the UAE as the existing bowlers completed the demolition job. As for Pakistan, will they bring in ace speedster Haris Rauf? Rauf has troubled Suryakumar Yadav; hence, the Men in Green might be tempted to bring in the right-arm pacer.
Fans have started flooding in, long line of queue awaiting at the stadium.
The Dubai International Stadium is expected to come alive as India and Pakistan will lock horns in what will by far be the biggest match of Asia Cup 2025. Despite calls for boycott largely among Indian spectators, the staium is likely to be packed in a sea of blue and green as India and Pakistan aim to reign supreme.
The clash in Dubai will take place on the backdrop of a recent political skirmish between the two countries. Although the Indian government gave the green signal for the match to go ahead, there has been massive outrage within the country over why it is taking place. An enormous amount of spectators have also vowed not to watch the fixture.
On the cricketing side of things, both India and Pakistan began their campaigns with crushing wins over UAE and Oman, respectively. Although Pakistan is known for their unpredictability, Team India's depth across facets and the presence of multi-faceted cricketers should be enough to squeeze their arch-rivals.
India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 squads
India sqaud: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel.
Pakistan squad: Salman Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.
