India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup final: Records on the line, milestones in sight - who writes tonight's history?
Asia Cup 2025 culminates in a historic India-Pakistan final, with both teams bringing intense rivalry and redemption on the line.
41 years since the first Asia Cup and for the first time the dream fixture, the mother of all cricketing rivalries lands in a title bout. India have already beaten Pakistan twice en route to the summit clash, but the cricket has shared headlines with tense optics and off the field acrimony. Tonight, the noise fades as the trophy decides the story.
This is not just another cricket match or not just another India vs Pakistan clash. Suryakumar Yadav’s side chases a perfect campaign while Salman Ali Agha’s Pakistan hunts for redemption. Tense moments, close fights, war or words and unparalleled intensity are the expectations for the game.
Records that can tumble tonight
Abhishek Sharma
The Indian opener has scored three consecutive half-centuries in the tournament. If Abhishek Sharma crosses the half-century today, he will become the first Indian with four consecutive T20I half-centuries. Besides Abhishek, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are the Indian batters who have three successive T20I 50 plus scores under their belt.
Notably, Abhishek Sharma is 126 runs away from topping the all-time Men’s T20 Asia Cup run-scorers list. The record currently belongs to Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka, who has scored 434 runs, followed by Virat Kohli with 429. If Sharma has an outstanding day, he can go past these two batters.
{{/usCountry}}Notably, Abhishek Sharma is 126 runs away from topping the all-time Men’s T20 Asia Cup run-scorers list. The record currently belongs to Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka, who has scored 434 runs, followed by Virat Kohli with 429. If Sharma has an outstanding day, he can go past these two batters.
{{/usCountry}}Abhishek Sharma is also chasing the record of most runs for India in a multinational T20 tournament. The current record is with Virat Kohli who scored 319 runs in the T20 World Cup 2014. Sharma needs 11 runs to have the record under his belt.
Hardik Pandya
{{/usCountry}}Abhishek Sharma is also chasing the record of most runs for India in a multinational T20 tournament. The current record is with Virat Kohli who scored 319 runs in the T20 World Cup 2014. Sharma needs 11 runs to have the record under his belt.
Hardik Pandya
{{/usCountry}}The Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya is just a couple of wickets away from reaching 100 T20I wickets. If he is able to do this in this match, he would become the second Indian bowler after Arshdeep Singh to achieve this feat.
Haris Rauf
{{/usCountry}}The Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya is just a couple of wickets away from reaching 100 T20I wickets. If he is able to do this in this match, he would become the second Indian bowler after Arshdeep Singh to achieve this feat.
Haris Rauf
{{/usCountry}}The Pakistan pacer is currently the joint highest wicket taker in Men’s T20 Asia Cups with 17 scalps under his belt. He shares the top spot with Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga. One wicket tonight will establish him at the helm of this list.
India’s chance at unbeaten championship
India come into the summit clash with six wins from six matches under their belt. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side has the chance to become the unbeaten champions of the tournament.
Conditions, probable XIs and tactical battlegrounds
Pitch and conditions: A fresh central strip will be used at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium for this game as some reports confirm. The average first innings total here has been around 160 in the last five years. Grip and turn for the spinners is expected from the wicket, however, there are chances of late dew, that might help the team chasing.
Probable XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardil Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha (c), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris (wk), Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Tactical battles to decide the game
Powerplay: India ride on Abhishek Sharma’s powerplay explosions. Pakistan would target his wicket early in the game to put the Men in Blue on the backfoot.
Middle Overs: While Pakistan would look to control the middle-overs with the spin of Abrar Ahmed, India’s go-to will be their trio of Kuldeep, Varun and Axar. This battle will be decided by the set of the batters, who are more proactive and are able to blunt the opposition spinners better.
Death Overs: Bumrah, Hardik vs Rauf and Shaheen - this will decide the death overs battle on the night. Both sets of bowlers will be giving their best and try to minimize the damage for their team in the last four to five overs of the innings.
One night, a thousand headlines
In a rivalry that holds memory, it won’t be the noise, it will be the skills that determine who has the last laugh in Asia Cup 2025. It narrows down to one night; one swing of momentum, one roar that drowns the rest. India chase certainty, Pakistan chases rebuttal. A single spell, a single misfield, a single yorker - every move will be under the scanner tonight.
