DUBAI – In the Asia Cup final, Pakistan’s batting lineup collapsed like a sandcastle, setting India a modest 147-run target.
At Dubai Stadium, India once again won the toss—the third time in a row. This time, instead of the usual handshake, Pakistani captain spoke with a Pakistani commentator while India’s Suryakumar interacted with an Indian commentator.
Pakistan got a strong start as Sahibzada Farhan (57) and Fakhar Zaman (46) built an 84-run opening stand. But after Farhan’s dismissal, wickets tumbled rapidly, adding only 62 more runs. Eight players failed to reach double figures; only Saim Ayub (14), Salman Agha (8) and Mohammad Nawaz (6) offered minor contributions.
For India, Kuldeep Yadav starred with 4 wickets, while Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel took 2 each.
Pakistan made no changes to their squad, with the playing XI featuring: Captain Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Abrar Ahmed.
India suffered a setback as all-rounder Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the final due to injury, with Rinku Singh replacing him in the playing XI.
In the Asia Cup 2025, India has beaten Pakistan in both previous encounters, but Pakistan has defeated every other Asian team. Historically, in multi-nation tournament finals, Pakistan leads India with 3 wins to India’s 2 in their five final meetings.
SQUADS
Pakistan: Salman Agha (captain), Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim.
India: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
