ASIA CUP 2025, FINAL
Can cricket between the two countries stand up and take its rightful place? © ACC
We have been here before. Not in the Asia Cup, where it’s taken 41 years and 17 editions to have both India and Pakistan in the final, but in the rhythms of this rivalry. Pakistan have looked like this before: clumsy, erratic, often undone by their own urgency against India, the occasion weighing heavier than the ball in hand. India have looked like this too: steadier, sharper, carrying themselves with the kind of stoic confidence that can, in moments, harden into swagger. And yet, history reminds us that Pakistan have turned such scripts around before, sometimes spectacularly at the expense of India in a final.
Of course, this is not 2017 and this is not the Champions Trophy. Nor is it the Austral-Asia Cups of 1986 and 1994 in Sharjah. It is 2025, it is the Asia Cup, and it is Dubai. And fortunately, cricket matches are not won by echoes of the past but by the skills and decisions played out on the day. Still, sport has a way of tugging teams back into old patterns, as if memory itself lingers in the logo on the jersey. And nowhere is that inheritance starker than in the gulf separating India and Pakistan today.
At the moment, it is no surprise that India, with their financial might and the way it funnels into domestic cricket, are at a different level. The gulf has shown in the two matches between the sides; it has shown everywhere except for the 10-odd overs when Sahibzada Farhan kept India at bay. The gap is so apparent that Suryakumar Yadav, India’s captain, has said India-Pakistan is “not a rivalry anymore.” At least not in T20Is. India lead the head-to-head tally 12-3, which gives weight to the statement, but the remark, pointed and deliberate, came in the middle of a tournament and India do not have the trophy in their hands yet. His words will carry more force if he does; if not, it could be one of those lines cricket circles back to for years.
The good news is that more people than ever will be watching this final. Many on both sides of the border, who may not have tuned in at the start, are now invested. They are interested, they are cheering, they are showing up. It may not be a World Cup on the line, but it feels like one. Movie theatres in India are streaming the match live. Stadiums in Pakistan are setting up big screens for public viewings. For a tournament that began with India and Pakistan’s captains not even seated next to each other at the captains’ press conference, the Asia Cup has turned into what it was always designed to be: a bilateral series masquerading as a multi-nation tournament, with India-Pakistan matches spread across three straight Sundays this time around.
The bad news is that it is not cricket that has drawn the masses, but the acrimony that surrounds it. Drama sells. The storylines of no handshakes, no press conferences, uncalled for gestures and celebrations, the ICC complaints and sanctions have all piled up, and none of them have been about cricket.
They should have been. They should have been about Abhishek Sharma’s bat swing and Saim Ayub’s carrom ball. About Varun Chakaravarthy’s scrambled-seam legbreak & googlies and about Fakhar Zaman’s longevity and return to the top of the order. These are the details worth remembering, the ones that can define a tournament. But they have been overshadowed. Can cricket between the two countries stand up and take its rightful place? Will the third time be the charm?
When: Sep 28, 06:30 PM LOCAL / 08:00 PM LOCAL
Where: Dubai International Stadium
What to expect: Two pitches at the centre of the square have been prepared. One is the surface used for the two previous India-Pakistan matches, the other is fresh and could produce the kind of high-scoring affair seen in India’s game against Sri Lanka. Toss has not been decisive in Dubai; in 10 matches so far, wins are evenly split 5-5 between teams batting first and chasing, including Friday’s tied finish. The average first-innings total is 148.
Teams Watch
India
Injuries/unavailability: Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma cramped up during the Sri Lanka match and were off the field for long spells. Abhishek and Tilak are expected to be fit. Hardik’s status is less certain and a decision is expected to be made closer to the match.
Tactics and matchups: If Pandya is not fit, India will struggle to replace him. Playing Arshdeep Singh, who won India the Super Over against Sri Lanka, makes a lot of sense but it will come at the cost of batting depth, which India can make up for by playing only one legspinner. Whether they will, after the spin twins helped India tie the game against Sri Lanka, is anybody’s guess. But the selections and combinations might have a knock-on effect. Can Abhishek Sharma, who’s scored 35% of India’s runs in this tournament, swing as hard if the batting depth runs thin? That could be Pakistan’s chance.
Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya/Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan
Injuries/unavailability: Everybody is available for selection.
Tactics and matchups: Pakistan are likely to go in unchanged, having stumbled upon their most balanced XI late in the tournament. The bowling lineup would target early wickets after Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill stole the show with their century stand last time around. Gill, of the two, looks the more vulnerable at the moment; both his dismissals to pace in this series have come to full-length balls seaming in. In the middle order, Haris Rauf to Suryakumar Yadav would make for an interesting battle, the out-of-form India captain having gotten out to Rauf three out of three times in T20Is.
Probable XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Did you know?
– In T20Is since 2024, India have won 34 out of their 37 matches (including three in the Super Over)
– India and Pakistan have faced off in 12 finals across formats, with Pakistan leading 8-4, the last of which was their 180-run win at the Champions Trophy 2017 final.
– India’s top seven have been hitting a boundary once every five balls, while Pakistan’s have done that once in every eight balls.
What they said
“There is always a lot of pressure on Pakistan and India when they play each other, and if we say that there is no pressure, then it is wrong” – Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan captain, sets up the Asia Cup final
“Shaheen is obviously an aggressive bowler that will try and knock you over. And Abhishek is not going to hold back. I think, so far, every time these two went head-to-head, we all as cricket supporters and fans are on the edge of our seats and that’s great for the game. Yeah, so let’s look forward to that on Sunday and enjoy the battle” – Morne Morkel, India bowling coach, on the battle royale.
© Cricbuzz
RELATED STORIES