Both teams are unchanged as Pakistan skipper Salman says the team is very excited for the match.
Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat in their high-intensity encounter against India in the men’s Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai on Sunday.
An India-Pakistan cricket match is always a blockbuster, but emotions will run even higher in today’s Asia Cup clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who engaged in a four-day military conflict earlier this year.
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Over 2 — Pak – 6-2
1.2 Haris gets a top edge and Bumrah strikes. Pandya catches, running in from fine leg.
Pakistan have got off to the worst possible start. India have their tails up. Haris was the standout in the side’s tournament-opener against Oman but now he departs.
Over 1 – Pak 5-1
India’s Hardik Pandya starts off with a wide down the legside.
Saim Ayub falls on the very first ball of the match.
Saim Ayub’s troubles with the bat continue. He was also out first ball against Oman.
Mohammad Haris is off the mark on the first ball and Sahibzada also gets off the mark on the first ball.
Haris flashes and misses on the next ball. He blocks the penultimate ball off the over.
He hits out on the next ball and gets two.
Anthems
The Pakistani national anthem is being played first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The Indian anthem is being played next.
Pakistan openers Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan make their way to the crease.
Analysis by Dawn’s Umaid Wasim: Pakistan wanted to bat first and set an above-par total. India wanted to bowl first. Both sides will be quite happy with the outcome of the toss. Pakistan, though, face a trial by spin. The pitch is the same as the one for India’s opening match against the UAE. India skipper Suyakumar Yadav said at the toss that batting got easier in the second stanza of the UAE game, and perhaps that is why he wanted his side to be batting second.
Even before the clashes in May, which nearly escalated into a full-blown war, bilateral cricket ties had been suspended. The arch-rivals now play each other only in multi-team tournaments.
Political relations have deteriorated further since the clashes, with several former Indian players urging the Board of Control for Cricket in India to boycott what will be the first meeting between the teams since the recent hostilities.
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, speaking at the toss, said: “We’re very excited for the match.”
According to the captain, Pakistan’s rationale behind batting first is that the surface looks to be on the slower side.
His Indian counterpart, Suryakumar Yadav, said this team was really looking forward to this game.
Both teams are unchanged since their last encounters in the tournament.
Pakistan batter Saim Ayub said on Saturday that the team was not just focusing on the Pakistan-India match, but winning the men’s Asia Cup.
While reigning T20 world champions India are the firm favourites to retain their title, Pakistan are on a high, having convincingly beaten Afghanistan to win the final of a tri-series and Oman in the lead-up to the contest.
The two teams last faced each other in February, in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in the ODI format.
The eight-nation T20 tournament began on Tuesday with Afghanistan beating Hong Kong by 94 runs. India crushed the hosts, the UAE, by nine wickets on Wednesday.
Pakistan, India, Oman and UAE are in Group A, while Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Bangladesh form Group B.
The top two teams from each Group will qualify for the Super Four stage.
The top two teams will then play the September 28 final in Dubai.
Teams:
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Abrar Ahmed.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah.
