The Asia Cup has reserved its biggest showdown for the finale: arch-rivals India and Pakistan will face off in the tournament’s title clash on Sunday night in Dubai — a high-stakes encounter laden with political undertones, on-field tensions, and the weight of history.
Pakistan booked their place in the final with a narrow 11-run victory over Bangladesh, setting up a third showdown in the competition against arch-rivals India — the standout team of the competition so far.
The build-up has been dominated as much by handshake controversies and fiery celebrations as by cricket itself. India, the defending champions, unbeaten in six games this edition, remain overwhelming favourites.
Their batting has been spearheaded by opener Abhishek Sharma, who tops the tournament charts with 309 runs at 51.50, including consecutive half-centuries. On the bowling front, their attack has been led by Kuldeep Yadav, who is the highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets at 9.84.
India’s biggest vulnerability has been in the field: 12 dropped catches so far, with some players blaming Dubai’s “ring of fire” floodlights.
But with depth across their batting and bowling, they have rarely looked threatened.For Pakistan, this is a chance to flip the script.
Their batting has been brittle, collapsing to 49 for 5 against Bangladesh before scrambling to a defendable total.
