It is the second match of the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2025 which features arch rivals India and Pakistan going head-to-head in Dubai. It is Round 2 of what people bill as the Greatest Rivalry and no matter what the sentiment is and what kind of contests it happens, India-Pakistan clashes always generates interest and talking points among all the people. They met in the Group Stage encounter at the same venue last Sunday but that won’t count for much later tonight.
Round 1 of the Greatest Rivalry went in favour of India as they easily dismantled Pakistan by 7 wickets outplaying them in all facets of the game. But that match won’t count for much as all teams start from scratch in the Super 4 stage. What’s happened in the Group stage is history as the real tournament starts now. Yes, you could take learnings from those matches, but that’s about it. Nothing else. Let’s hope the focus remains on cricket and not on off the field issues as there has been quite a lot of that happening of late.
Overview
It is the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2025 with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka being the other two teams in the fray. Bangladesh upstaged Sri Lanka in a thriller on Saturday night and now it is the turn of India and Pakistan to provide a thriller for all fans and viewers alike. The Group stage match went India’s way but Super 4s will be a fresh start as both teams will start from the scratch. It is the second match of this stage and is a blockbuster clash in more ways than one.
India dominated Pakistan last Sunday winning by 7 wickets but then the off-field drama started first with Suryakumar led India refusing to shake hands with Pakistan players after the game. This no handshake incident was taken exception to by Pakistan and was blown out of proportion when they targeted ICC match referee Andy Pycroft. Pakistan wanted his removal from the tournament threatening boycott, but the ICC supported him hands down. Later, the PCB said that Pycroft apologised to Pakistan and filmed videos illegally. They threatened to boycott the UAE game and eventually played in it after an hour’s delay holding the Asia Cup to ransom.
They skipped the pre-match press conference against UAE and now against India for the Super 4 clash as we got to know that Andy Pycroft will be the match referee for this crucial Super 4 clash. The Men in Green have been in the news lately for more off the field issues than on the field. It is high time they concentrate on things happening on the field than off the field as the Asia Cup reaches a crucial stage of the tournament.
Coming back to cricketing matter, the Men in Green Pakistan started with a bang as they hammered Oman by 93 runs, before they bowed down and lost tamely to India. The game with UAE became a virtual knockout fixture with the Salman Ali Agha-led team managing to hold the fort despite all the noise around thanks to a solid bowling performance.
Pakistan’s batting was fragile yet again with Saim Ayub registering an unwanted record as he was dismissed for ducks in all three of the group games. Pakistan always had one of the batters in the top three, barring Ayub, who has played a handy little knock, with Mohammad Haris hitting a fifty against Oman, Sahibzada Farhan anchoring against India, and Fakhar Zaman playing a fine knock against UAE. They need their middle order to fire along with the skipper.
Shaheen Afridi hasn’t been good with the new ball, but he has made up for it with the bat, playing two wonderful cameos against India and UAE. The spinners have been good, with the likes of Abrar Ahmed, Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Sufiyan Muqeem taking decent advantage of the slow surfaces on offer.
On the other hand, the Men in Blue India are going all guns blazing, getting their game plan absolutely spot on. Suryakumar Yadav has stated they are all in readiness for the Super Four, irrespective of the opposition. They are one of the two teams that were undefeated in the Group Stage along with the Lankan Lions.
The Men in Blue made a mockery of UAE in their tournament opener, before thrashing Pakistan last Sunday. They were already through to the next round and had a casual outing against Oman, who gave their all to put up some fight.
India made two changes in the last game, resting Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy and both are expected to return to the playing XI for this game, with Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh making way. Axar Patel, who walked off the field after coping a blow to his head while attempting a catch against Oman, bowled only one over. He was deemed to be fine, with the modern day concussion protocols, it would be interesting to see whether the all-rounder remains in the XI or not.
It was a strange game to say the least with the Indian captain SKY not walking out to bat despite India losing 8 wickets. It was understandable, given that he promoted the likes of Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, and Tilak Varma. Still, with Harshit, Arshdeep and Kuldeep Yadav remaining to bat, he could have taken guard, as this move raised quite a few eyebrows in the cricketing arena.
Abhishek Sharma, as usual, went hammer and tongs. Shubman Gill was reminded of his weakness against left-arm pace early on with the new ball that might be exposed by Shaheen in this clash. Samson made the opportunity to bat at three with a responsible half-century on a wicket that was not straightforward to bat on. Axar and Tilak came up with cameos, while Pandya was unlucky, and Dube failed. Harshit hit a six off the last ball to showcase his batting prowess.
Indian bowlers were made to toil hard for the wickets. Everyone who could possibly roll their arms had a go with the ball. However, the quality with the ball was more than good enough to restrict Oman from pulling off a miracle. India will look to make it two in two against Pakistan in the competition, while the latter will aim to give it back. The atmosphere in Dubai will be electric for sure irrespective of all the drama.
So, the stage is set for Round 2 of the India-Pakistan battle in Dubai and we have to wait and find out who comes out on top later tonight.
Head-To-Head
India and Pakistan have played each other in 14 clashes with India winning 11 of them and Pakistan 3. India won the Group Stage last Sunday easily in Dubai. But Pakistan’s 2 out of 3 wins have come in Dubai against India. The Men In Green will fancy their chances and motivated to cause an upset.
Pitch & Weather Report
The pitch in Dubai is a balanced one for batters and bowlers. The pitch tends to help the spinners a lot more than Abu Dhabi in general. There could be initial help for the pacers and the spinners come into the game in the middle overs and they can choke the runs. Batters if they apply themselves can score runs on this deck. A score of around 160-170 is a challenging score batting first. Teams winning the toss will opt to chase as that is the trend in Dubai.
The weather in Dubai will be hot and humid to say the least. The temperatures soar in the day time, but at night during match it cools down. But heat is a factor and players have adjusted to it by now. There is no chance of rain and we are set to see a full game of cricket.
Predicted/Probable Playing XIs of both sides
Here, we will predict the probable playing XIs of both sides.
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash
Abhishek Sharma: The Indian opener has been on a roll giving India quick starts at the top of the order. He has been getting 30s and getting out but giving the Men in Blue the head start in the powerplay. India will want him to continue in the same vein and give the team bright starts so that it makes the job of others easier. Abhishek is someone who can upset the bowling of Pakistan and he will want to do that on Sunday night as well.
Kuldeep Yadav: Kuldeep Yadav will be one of the key bowlers for India especially in the middle overs. The middle overs is a phase where spinners choke the game. Kuldeep not only does that but he also picks up wickets. In the two matches, he has played in Dubai, he has picked up 7 wickets with 4 against UAE and 3 against Pakistan. Kuldeep will be expected and the onus will be on him to deliver the goods as he himself has said that he needs to take wickets to be in the side.
Fakhar Zaman: It was a welcome return to form for Fakhar Zaman as he scored a nice half century against UAE in the must-win clash. He loves playing against India and has a good history against them. He tends to struggle against spin, but against pace he is a force to reckon with. Fakhar will try and unleash his best against India and makes sure that he does well because if he does so Pakistan will be benefitted in their batting while batting first or chasing.
Shaheen Afridi: Shaheen Afridi the bowler may have blown hot and cold so far, but Afridi the batter has made handy contributions. Against India, he played a cameo to take Pakistan to a respectable total and then in the must-win game against UAE, Afridi scored 29* off 14 balls to take Pakistan close to 150 where at one point 130 looked possible. Afridi has done his bat with the bat, but it’s Afridi the bowler with the new ball that needs to stand up later tonight. If he does so, then India could find themselves in serious trouble. Afridi will be raring to go against the Men in Blue.
Key Stats/Records to look forward to in this clash:
- Abhishek Sharma is 2 sixes away from completing 50 T20I sixes.
- Suryakumar Yadav is 2 sixes away from completing 150 T20 sixes.
- Sahibzada Farhan is 48 runs away from completing 500 T20I runs.
- Hasan Nawaz is 51 runs away from completing 500 T20I runs.
- Hardik Pandya who is on 96 wickets is one wicket away from becoming India’s second highest wicket-taker in T20Is.
- Shaheen Afridi is 2 wickets away from becoming the second highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in T20Is.
Possible/Predicted Outcome of the Match
It is a Super 4 clash and an India Pakistan game. So tough to call a winner as whoever handles the pressure will win the contest. But looking at current form and on paper, one would have to agree that India are a superior side and firm favourites for this game. So, we pick India to triumph over Pakistan. But the Men in Green can pull off a surprise if India are complacent. Pakistan’s best chance of beating India is chasing and history suggests so in the three games that they have won against India.
So, the stage is set for an epic battle in Dubai and let’s hope it is not one-sided and we get a good contest in. More focus should be on cricket and cricket should be the winner at the end of the night.
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