India and Pakistan are all set for a high-voltage Round 2 showdown in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, reigniting one of cricket’s fiercest rivalries.
The match comes just a week after the controversial handshake saga marred their group-stage face-off at the Dubai International Stadium, adding off-field tension to an already high-stakes encounter. Both teams have had time to regroup, analyse each other’s strategies, and prepare for the showdown with one remaining group game both had, with players aware that a single session could turn the tide.
India vs Pakistan: Head-to-Head tie
India and Pakistan have faced each other 209 times in international cricket since 1952, with Pakistan leading the head-to-head 88-77. Of those, 14 came in T20Is, where India hold an overwhelming 10-3 win-loss record. However, it was at the Dubai International Stadium, where Pakistan last beat India in a T20I contest, winning by 10 wickets in the 2022 T20 World Cup group-stage face-off. The Men in Blue have since won three matches in a row, including their previous face-off in Dubai last Sunday, securing a seven-wicket win.
India also hold the advantage in their Asia Cup rivalry against Pakistan, winning 11 of their 19 encounters. Four of those came in T20I contests, where India lost just once – in 2022, in the Super Four stage in Dubai. Mohammad Nawaz’s all-rounder performance saw Pakistan chase down 182 with a ball to spare.
India and Pakistan, however, have each won two matches in their four T20I matches at the Dubai International Stadium.
India vs Pakistan: Key battles
Shaheen Afridi vs Shubman Gill: If Pakistan had watched Friday’s game against Oman, their key takeaway would have been Ishan Kishan’s vulnerability against left-arm swing, as he struggled against left-armer Shah Faisal. Kishan was dismissed on the third ball, and Faisal also troubled Sanju Samson. With Shaheen Afridi in their line-up, Pakistan would likely target the India opener with their pacer.
Abrar Ahmed vs Samson and Tilak Varma: On the sluggish Abu Dhabi track, the two middle-order batters struggled against the Oman spinners on Friday, going 22 balls without a single boundary. Ahmed will be key for Pakistan in this match-up, with the spinner having conceded just two boundaries in 70 deliveries this far in the tournament.
Kuldeep Yadav vs Pakistan middle-order: The Indian spinner has been their best bowler in the tournament thus far, picking up eight wickets at an average of just six. In the previous game, he had led the charge through the middle overs against Pakistan, picking up three wickets for just 11 runs in 18 balls. The likes of Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Nawaz struggled considerably against the chinaman, en route to their dismissal. He has also dismissed Salman twice before in 12 deliveries in T20I cricket.
India vs Pakistan: Probable line-up
India 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 XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (w), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.