Asia Cup | IND vs PAK: Surprise inclusion in Indian team? Pitch report, playing XI, weather forecast and more
In the 2nd Super 4 match of the Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India and Pakistan face off again after India’s dominant group-stage win. India, unbeaten so far, aims to continue their winning streak under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy. Pakistan, finishing second in Group A, must sharpen their batting to tackle India’s mystery spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, along with the pace threat of Jasprit Bumrah. Both teams are likely to rely heavily on spin given the pitch conditions. This high-stakes encounter promises intense competition between these fierce rivals.
India Probable XI
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh.
Pakistan Probable XI
Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Agha Salman (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
Pitch Report
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium offers a surface that favors spinners, encouraging teams to strengthen their spin attack during the Asia Cup. While pacers can exploit early movement, spinners are expected to gain more assistance as the match progresses, with the potential to extract significant turn when bowling in the right areas. Batsmen will need to focus on rotating the strike effectively and playing spin cautiously, especially during the middle overs.
Key Stats and Records
India holds the highest team total at the venue, scoring 212/2 against Afghanistan in 2022, while Pakistan’s best is 187 all out versus Sri Lanka in 2013, a match they lost. The lowest team score recorded is 55 by West Indies. Pakistan’s lowest total here is 74 against Australia (2012), and India’s lowest is 110/7 versus New Zealand (2021). Babar Azam leads the run charts with 505 T20I runs at an average of 45.90. Fakhar Zaman and Suryakumar Yadav are other notable contributors for their respective teams. Among bowlers, Sohail Tanvir holds the record for most wickets (22), with Shaheen Afridi and Jasprit Bumrah being the leading active wicket-takers for Pakistan and India respectively. The average run rate at this venue is around 7.42 for teams batting first and slightly lower at 7.25 for teams chasing.
Weather Forecast
The weather for the India vs Pakistan match is expected to be warm and humid, with no rain interruptions predicted. These conditions could challenge the players physically but are unlikely to affect the flow of the game. Both teams have well-balanced bowling attacks, with pacers setting the tone early and spinners aiming to capitalize later, making the pitch advantage a shared factor.
The Super 4 match is scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm IST on September 21 (Sunday) in Dubai.