India vs Pakistan LIVE Updates, Asia Cup 2025 Final: Fans attending IND-PAK tie can be jailed, fined INR 7.2 lakh if...

Pakistan threatened to pull out of the tournament altogether, but stuck with it as the ICC held emergency talks with the team. Haris Rauf began taunting the Indian team and fans in training as he and his teammates sought a response to India treating the Pakistan team the way they did, and also Suryakumar Yadav dedicating that first win to the Indian troops and those who lost their lives in Pahalgam. Rauf’s response was a step too far for many – but it didn't stop there, as he kept it going when the match began. In the end, it was all hot air and blister: Pakistan left a better account of themselves, as the match was far closer, but Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill exploding with a massive opening partnership meant that the result was beyond a doubt early.

India vs Pakistan predicted XI for Asia Cup final:

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

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

That is the story of the two India-Pakistan matches this far in this tournament, as we gear up for episode three. This time, things are different: yes, India have looked a class apart at times from their neighbours, but with a trophy on the line and a third meeting in three weekends, not one Indian soul is writing off Pakistan and saying that India are invincible. Pakistan have, after all, managed to beat every other team in this Asia Cup except India, showing that this is a team that does have quality, and just needs to put the pieces together against India. They qualified through to the final on the back of defending 135 against Bangladesh, in the sort of bowling performance that will give them plenty of confidence and momentum heading into this one.

India, meanwhile, have been slipping. After coasting through the group stages, they have been challenged in the Super 4s. Bangladesh gave them a couple of signs of concern, and Sri Lanka pushed them all the way: the Lions should have beaten India after dominating 90% of their chase on Friday night, and India know that their super over win papers over the cracks that were exposed. There's a nervousness to India’s cricket at the moment, as the middle order struggles for a little bit of rhythm, captain Suryakumar Yadav in particular not looking quite at his best thus far.

The bowling will be shored up with Jasprit Bumrah coming back in after a rest, but even India's star man hasn't looked at his best: against Pakistan the second time out, he was expensive, and needed support from two all-round pacers in Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube to chip in with the bowling. With all this in mind, there are vulnerabilities that Pakistan can target, and India will remember Champions Trophy 2017, which is the last time the teams met in a final: give them a chance, and Pakistan will be ready to show up and snatch the title right out of India's hands.

What India do have going in their favour is that they have the two frontrunners for player of the tournament, and a pair of players who have been heads and shoulders above their fellow cricketers all through this month of cricket. Kuldeep Yadav has been generating magic from his fingertips, turning the ball this way and that, looking almost unplayable, and looking inevitable when it comes to putting his name in the wickets column. With him clogging the runs and taking wickets through the middle overs, no team has truly been able to put India to task: it was once again his impact which allowed India to fight back vs Sri Lanka.

But this is a tournament that has belonged to Abhishek Sharma, as the dashing, dazzling southpaw has announced himself as one of the best T20 batters in the world. 309 runs in this tournament, on a hot-streak of fifties, and scoring at a rate of over 200 in a tournament where runs have been so tough to come by for almost everyone else. India don't live and die without Abhishek, but it's been clear that he is behind all the momentum that their batting can generate. If he keeps his scoring going, he has the capacity to decide this final singlehandedly.

There is much more behind this match than the cricket itself, as it becomes a battleground in more ways than one. But when it comes down to it, a trophy waiting at the end of the road means it is impossible for this India-Pakistan match to be anything except truly enticing. Which team holds their nerve best on Sunday night?

Here are a few pointers surrounding the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 final:

- This is the first Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan since the tournament's inception way back in 1984.

- India is undefeated in the tournament, while Pakistan's only two defeats have come against India.

- Pakistan have won the Asia Cup just twice - in 2000 and 2012.

- Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah are likely to be part of India's Playing XI.

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