The T20I Asia Cup is underway in the UAE, and on Sunday night the highly anticipated match between Pakistan and India is to take place in Dubai.

India, the reigning Asia Cup champions and led by Suryakumar Yadav, head into the clash as the favourites, boasting a strong 10-3 win record against Pakistan in T20Is.

India and Pakistan are no strangers to having the limelight shone on them at global events, especially cricket tournaments.

These two cricketing giants have a long-standing competitive history and their encounters are always among the most watched matches worldwide.

India hold the upper hand against Pakistan in Asia Cup encounters, boasting 10 victories out of 18 matches across both ODIs and T20Is. In their three T20I Asia Cup games, the men in blue have a slight edge, leading 2-1.

Today’s (Sunday’s) game will be the first between the two rivals in T20Is since last year’s World Cup fixture in New York - is that both teams have moved on from their superstars. India are without the retired Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja while Pakistan have chosen to move on, without Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Naseem Shah.

Unlike Pakistan, coming off a steady diet of T20I cricket over the past three months, reigning champions India will be playing their first T20I since the England series in January.

Pakistan’s potential to surprise cannot be underestimated and their chances against India in the tournament promising, specially after winning the tri-nation trophy in Sharjah last week.

Pakistan’s key players, such as Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz are expected to lead Pakistan’s charge, with their performances being crucial to the team’s chances. If Pakistan’s batters can build substantial totals their bowlers have the ability to defend it.

India have the best men’s T20 Asia Cup record, winning eight of their 10 matches. The next are title-defenders Sri Lanka, who have won six out of 10. Pakistan are the only other team to have played 10 men’s T20 Asia Cup matches, and they have won half of them.

Afghanistan have won four out of eight. Bangladesh and the UAE have three wins from seven games each. Oman has one win from three games. Hong Kong are yet to register a win in the tournament.

It has been nearly 18 years since India and Pakistan clashed in a Test match, the ultimate form of cricket, and close to 13 years since either team ventured across the border for a bilateral series.

India and Pakistan met for the first time in the Asia Cup in the first edition of the tournament in the UAE in 1984. India won the match by 54 runs. Pakistan was bowled out on 134 while chasing an easy target of 189.

Since then, Pakistan and India have played 14 matches against each other in the Asia Cup ODIs.

India have won eight times and Pakistan five times. India also hold a dominant head-to-head record against Pakistan in T20I format as they have won six of the nine matches that they have played so far. Pakistan remained victorious on two occasions. One match ended without a result.

Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, India won the last edition of the tournament in 2023 in Sri Lanka, further reasserting their dominance in Asian cricket. Conversely, Pakistan has won the Asia Cup only twice, with their last Asia Cup championship coming in Bangladesh in 2012 - over a decade ago.

Team India have generally been more successful in the Asia Cups, but the green shirts certainly have the potential to turn things around when it counts.

The outcome of the Pakistan-India match in the 2025 Asia Cup will depend on various factors, including pitch conditions, player form, and team strategy. Historically, these encounters have been unpredictable, often swinging either way. While India might have the edge statistically, Now it is time for the men in green to leave the previous result against India behind. The top-order must play their natural game and provide a solid foundation for the middle order to post a massive total.

The first T20 Asia Cup was played in Bangladesh in 2016, weeks out of the T20 World Cup in India, and the second in 2022 ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia. With the next year’s T20

World Cup in February-March, this tournament presents teams a crucial opportunity to finesse their combinations in a high-pressure tournament environment.

The 2018 and 2023 editions of the tournament were played in ODI format, in line with the 2019 and 2023 50-over World Cups.

Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has scored most T20 (492) runs in 11 matches against Pakistan so far. He averages 70.28, with a strike rate of 123.92. He has scored five fifties.

For Pakistan, former wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been the most successful batter against India in the shortest format with 228 runs in five innings, averaging 57, strike rate 111.76 including two fifties.

India’s 192-5 at Ahmedabad in 2012 is the highest team score between the two teams in T20Is while green shirts managed their best 182-5 in Dubai in 2022.

India also scored the lowest team (83) total in the shortest format against Pakistan during the Asia Cup in 2016. Pakistan’s 113-7 in New York last year is the lowest team total.

Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 82 against Pakistan in the World Cup 2022 is the highest individual score by any batter in Indo-Pak contests so far. Mohammad Rizwan’s 79 not out in Dubai in 2021 is the best individual score from Pakistan.

Hardik Pandya is the most successful bowler with 13 wickets in seven matches, averaging 12 while Umar Gul taken most 11 wickets in six games with the average of 16.18.

Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif picked up 4-18 against India in the T20 World Cup 2007 at Durban still the best bowling performance between the two teams.

It is no longer a surprise when both teams are grouped together at mega events to ensure at least one India vs Pakistan sellout game, but organisers of the Asia Cup have done one better by trying to eke out one more match by introducing a round-robin style Super Four stage. This has resulted in both teams meeting twice in the past three Asia Cups.

Pakistan and India could face each other thrice in the ongoing Asia Cup. Their first and most definite meeting is in Group A today in Dubai. If they both qualify for the Super Four stage, they will meet again on September 21 at the same venue.

The September 28 final offers cricket fans the chance of a third India vs Pakistan match in two weeks - should both teams qualify.

khurrams87@yahoo.com