Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan vs India face-off to begin at 7:30 tonight

India defeat Pakistan by wickets

Yes Pakistan gave a tougher time to the Indian players but the rivals were able to contain the pressure and claim the game.

Middle-order batters Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya came in during the final overs, contributing 30 off 19 and 7 off 7 balls respectively, helping their side chase down the 173-run target set earlier by Pakistan.

Another wicket for Shaheens

Indian batters were found in struggle to retain at the crease as star pacer Haris Rauf resisted them to continue, picking up Sanju Samson who scored 13 off 17 balls.

Opening destroyed, skipper downed for duck

The Pakistani Shaheens struck back as second-positioned Gill and team skipper Suryakumar Yadav were both dismissed–Gill after scoring 47 off 28 balls in the 11th over, and Yadav for a duck in the 12th. The fall of the skipper left Sharma under immense pressure at the crease, which Abrar Ahmed took full advantage of–dismissing him after he had scored a quick 74 off just 39 balls.

Momentum-shift pressures Shaheens

Crushing shots continued by Sharma and Gill through first half of the second innings completely shifted the very momentum of the playing. The Pakistani bowlers couldn’t take a single wicket of their arch-rivals during the first ten overs, as Sharma and Gill capitalised on the ineffective fielding. Both smart players built a massive 105-run partnership in just 10 overs, narrowing the gap to just 65 runs.

First century comes up in 8.4 overs

Indian began their second innings by sending Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill to open the playing for their side.

Sharma hit a six off the very first ball, trying to shift the momentum and put pressure on Pakistan—just as the Shaheens had done to them in the opening innings earlier tonight.

Sharma and Gill not only struck back but also scored 58 off 27 and 43 off 24 balls each. With this an unbeaten 100 runs partnership also came up for the men in blue in the first 8.4 overs.

Pakistan’s 172-run competitive target

Pakistan blazed a commanding innings and that continued from first through the last over of the game. with no interruption at all that the Indian bowlers may have significantly created against Pakistan.

With less effective spells from the Indian bowlers, the Men in Green took advantage of the opportunity, posting a seemingly unassailable target of 172 runs against India.

The Shaheens 171-run total was included unforgettable 11 fours and 8 long sixes being hit by many batters of the Greens. Sahibzada, Saim, Nawaz, Salman and Faheem were the ones who hit long sixes.

Salman Agha and Faheem Ashraf, who came in after the earlier wickets fell, remained not out.

High-voltage clash first innings: a fun for Shaheens

Pakistan created an unprecedented pressure on Indian star players__ shooting the ball into every nook and the corner of the stadium, despite 5 wickets were lost through the innings such as Mohammad Nawaz (21 off 19) and Hussain Talat ( 10 off 10). Yet, from the top order through to the fall of five wickets, no Indian bowlers could take down a single wicket of the men in greens for a duck. That’s what made the game exciting—unlike the earlier defeat that Pakistan had painfully endured.

Sahibzada’s fall: a matter of luck

Sahibzada played played bravely with his bat, adding 58 off 45 (studded with 5 boundaries and 3 sixes), fighting for Shaheens from the first over through the 14th over the innings, increasing the team’s total up to 115 before lost to Dube. He lost his grip on the bat while attempting a big shot, resulting in a missed opportunity, as he failed to send the ball to the boundary in the 13.6 over, costing his team the biggest loss.

Saim downs but momentum with Pakistan

Young batter Saim Ayub downed by Abhishek Sharma but after adding 21 off 17 deliveries, which also included 1 boundary and one long six) to the team’s total in 11th over of the innings. Yet no worries as he is expected to be playing a crushing game while going into fielding against the arch-rivals. Notably, he has earned 5th rank in the ICC all-rounder list that the body shared after he smashed three batters against India in the first playing last week.

Farhan and Saim Ayub

There came in Saim Ayub to provide a supportive batting to the position-one player and thankfully Farhan took an advantage of this partnership.

Tp batter Farhan finally registered his long-wished 50 of just 36 balls in the 10th over of the innings, studded with 5 fours and 3 long sixes, giving unprecedented hopes to establish a commanding target against the arch-rivals tonight.

Young batter Saim also began playing havoc with his bat after top batter Fakhar was downed by Pandya in 2.2 overs, adding 21 off only 16 balls (including 1 boundary and 1 six), increasing the team’s total to 93 for one in 10.2 overs.

The shining batting by both the smart players established a commanding momentum for Shaheens, leading the predicted score up to 190 in 20 overs.

Players to follow are: Salman Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed and Hussain Talat.

Farhan and Fakhar

The Shaheens opened their innings with smart batters Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman, who scored 6 off 6 and 15 off 8 balls respectively, putting up a total of 21 runs. However, Fakhar was downed by Indian pacer Hardik Pandya in the 2.2 over.

India choose to field against Pakistan

India elected to field first after winning the toss for their second clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025.

Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Hussain Talat

India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah