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One of the fiercest and most widely followed rivalries in sport will be in the spotlight once again when India clashes with Pakistan in cricket’s T20 Asia Cup 2025.
Both teams will be riding a wave of confidence, given their recent form in T20 internationals.
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Defending champions India made a winning start to their campaign with a nine-wicket thrashing of hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their Group A game in Dubai.
Meanwhile, Pakistan enters the Asia Cup on the back of a tri-nation T20 series win against Afghanistan and the UAE in Sharjah.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
The Group A fixture is scheduled for Sunday and will begin at 6:30pm (14:30 GMT) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
India was slated to host the tournament as per the hosting rights schedule, and while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remains the official host of the tournament, it is being played in the UAE due to the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.
The Indian government has barred its athletes and teams from competing against their Pakistani counterparts in bilateral tournaments in all sports. Indian athletes are also barred from travelling to Pakistan, forcing all India-Pakistan encounters in multination sports tournaments to be hosted at a neutral venue.
Prior to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, both countries agreed to host each other at a neutral venue during ICC events.
September is typically a hot month in the UAE, and this year is no different.
The weather forecast for Sunday is hot and humid, with highs of 41 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) and partial cloud cover.
It will get slightly cooler in the evening as the match will start just after sunset and the temperature will drop to 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit).
The last meeting between India and Pakistan was at the same venue, Dubai, on February 23, in the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy.
A Virat Kohli batting masterclass helped India win by six wickets on a slow Dubai pitch, where Pakistan posted 241 in 49.4 overs. It was India’s 58th win over Pakistan in one-day internationals (ODI). Pakistan have beaten India 73 times in the ODI format.
Pakistan have lifted the trophy on two occasions – in 2000 and 2012 – and qualified for the final five times.
India are seven-time Asia Cup champions, with 11 appearances in the final.
In their 19 clashes in the Asia Cup, India have beaten Pakistan 10 times and lost to their neighbours on six occasions. Three matches, including the group-stage match in 2023, were abandoned due to poor weather.
Pakistan’s last Asia Cup win over India came in the 2022 edition in the UAE. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 71 runs in the Super Four clash, but it was Mohammad Nawaz’s 20-ball-41 that took Pakistan over the line in the run chase.
While Sunday’s match is, so far, the only confirmed India vs Pakistan match at the Asia Cup, they could meet again on September 21 in a Super Fours clash, should they qualify for the second stage.
The September 28 final offers cricket fans the chance of a third India vs Pakistan match in two weeks – if both teams qualify.
Since the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, the countries have met in 13 T20Is. India has won 10 times, including the first match in 2007, which was tied and then decided in a Super Over.
Two of Pakistan’s three wins came in Dubai.
Prior to the Asia Cup, India hadn’t played a T20 match since hosting England in a five-match series in January and February.
The T20 world champions won the series 4-1 to maintain their dominance at the top of the ICC T20 men’s teams rankings.
In fact, India have only lost three of the 20 T20s they have played since winning the World Cup in June 2024.
Last five results (most recent first): W-W-W-L-W
Pakistan’s form in T20s has been mixed of late, and they have won three of their five T20 series this year.
They head into the marquee clash with a series win in the bag.
Last five results (most recent first): W-W-L-W-W
India have been bolstered by Jasprit Bumrah’s return to the T20 side after a long injury and workload management forced layoff.
They are likely to keep the same XI that beat the UAE in the opening match.
Predicted XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper).
As is the norm in Pakistan cricket, the team has gone through a number of changes since the T20 World Cup 2024, including squad shuffling, a change of captaincy and the introduction of new coaching staff.
Since May, though, the team and captain have remained largely unchanged. Pakistan are likely to field a mix of youth and experience in their XI for Sunday’s match.
Predicted XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Salman Agha (captain), Hasan Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeem.
Squad: Salman Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.
A selection of seats, starting at $135 apiece for the general stand and going up to $4,550 for a two-person hospitality box, are still available on the tournament’s official ticketing website, Platinumlist, and at the stadium’s ticketing office.
Al Jazeera Sport will have a live photo and text commentary stream from 09:00 GMT on Sunday.
A number of digital streaming platforms and regional broadcasters will have live coverage of the match.
https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AFP__20250223__36YF7HT__v2__HighRes__TopshotCricketCt2025PakInd-1740306105.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440
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