Asia Cup 2025: Cricket’s greatest rivalry renewed as India and Pakistan set for potential ‘Match of the Year’
India vs. Pakistan: More than just a cricket match
The Dubai International Stadium will serve as the battleground upon which two of the fiercest rivals, both on and off the cricket pitch, will collide this weekend, when India and Pakistan face off in match six of the 2025 Asia Cup.
Indeed, this is a match that transcends cricket - it is a clash fueled by passion, pride and politics between two nations that enter the contest carrying the weight of their entire nation firmly on their shoulders.
Since the devastating attacks in Pahlagam that halted both the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League earlier this year, the BCCI severed all ties with Pakistan, which led to the India Legends team pulling out of their International Masters League fixture against the Shaheens.
Tempers between the nations have been simmering ever since, and now they are set to meet in what promises to be a match for the ages, where both sets of players will be determined to make their impression.
The Men in Blue are the clear favourites according to the best betting sites in India, and they enter this contest off the back of a stunning victory over the United Arab Emirates in their opening match of the competition on Tuesday.
However, Pakistan can certainly not be overlooked, as they won their one-off Tri-Nations series ahead of this tournament, and kicked off their Asia Cup campaign with a very impressive 93-run victory over debutants Oman on Thursday.
The stage is set, and the stakes are high. The Asia Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan is poised to script another unforgettable chapter in cricket’s greatest rivalry.
India vs. Pakistan: Time, date, and team news
This weekend’s blockbuster between India and Pakistan will mark the second time that these sides meet each other in Dubai this year, as they also faced off at this very ground in the ICC Champions Trophy, where India romped to victory.
A sold-out crowd turned up for that match while television viewership broke all sorts of records. However, there are concerns that it may be a little different this time, with tickets still on sale just 48 hours before the toss.
It is understood that while the match is expected to break television and streaming site records again, there is a strong chance that the stadium will not be at its capacity due to the price of entry, as well as a few security concerns.
Reports in recent days revealed that a standard seat for the match this weekend would cost fans $99, while a premium seat would set you back by up to an eye-watering $4,500 (almost ₹4 lakh).
India vs Pakistan match details:
Date: 14 September 2025
Time: 20:00 (IST), 14:30 (GMT)
How to watch: SonyLive (India), TNT Sports 1 (UK)
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Sanju Samson (Wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jitesh Sharma (Wk), Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh and Harshit Rana.
Pakistan squad: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(C), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (Wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Salman Mirza and Sufiyan Muqeem.
