DUBAI – Cricket fever hits its peak as arch-rivals Pakistan and India are facing each other in thrilling Asia Cup Group A match tonight at 7:30 pm.
Green Shirts and Men in Blue are having their first face-off since May military escalation when two sides fired missiles. Despite the initial refusal from India to play against Pakistan, the match go ahead and fans on both sides are eagerly waiting for fireworks on the field.
Both teams are in scorching form. India stunned UAE by nine wickets in their opener, while Pakistan crushed Oman by 93 runs. Key stars like Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, and Mohammad Haris for Pakistan, and Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah for India, could turn the match on its head.
If you look back, India leads with 10 wins in 19 Asia Cup encounters, while Pakistan has six victories, their last coming in 2022. The rivalry promises drama, passion, and high-stakes cricket.
Pakistan’s Saim Ayub confidently stated the team is ready, emphasizing consistent performance and hinting that the dry Dubai pitch favors the team batting first.
Pakistan vs India Squad Asia Cup
Pakistan
Salman Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wc), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.
India
Suryakumar Yadav (c), 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 (wc).
Asia Cup, Asia’s premier cricket tournament, has a rich history of competition, politics, and memorable performances since its inception in 1984. Established by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 1983 to promote cricket across the continent, the tournament has brought together regional teams through intense contests in the One Day International (ODI) format.
The first Asia Cup was held in the UAE, with India claiming the inaugural title, finishing ahead of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Since then, India has emerged as the most successful team with eight titles, followed by Sri Lanka with six. Pakistan has won the trophy twice, while Afghanistan and Bangladesh are still seeking their first triumph.
Political tensions have occasionally affected the tournament. Neutral venues Dubai hosted the tournament in recent editions, including two of the last three.
