India-Pakistan Will Clash For The First Time in an Asia Cup Final

Udaipur, Sept 26, 2025: Pakistan, with a strong bowling show, defended 135 runs against Bangladesh to become the second team to reach the Asia Cup 2025 final. They will now play India in the title match on September 28. This is the third time India and Pakistan are meeting in this tournament, and the first time in history that they will face each other in an Asia Cup final.

After a dismal batting performance, where the 7th wicket partnership lent some dignity to the score, the Pakistani bowlers worked hard to get the win. Shaheen Afridi took 3/17 in 4 overs and Haris Rauf took 3/33 in 4 overs. Saim Ayyub, who was struggling with the bat, bowled very well and took 2/16 in 4 overs. Afridi was named Player of the Match for his top bowling.

In reply to 135 runs, Bangladesh batsmen did not play well and lost the match. Only Shamim Hossain scored 30 runs. No other batsman stood their ground long enough to help Bangladesh reach the score in their allotted overs. The team finished with 127 for 9 in 20 overs.

Match Summary

Bangladesh won the toss and sent Pakistan to bat. Pakistan were 71 for 6, but Mohammad Haris (31) and Mohammad Nawaz (25) helped the team reach 135 runs. For Bangladesh, Rashad Hossain took 2 wickets for 18 runs, Taskin Ahmed took 3 for 28, and Mehidy Hasan took 2 for 28.

History of Asia Cup Finals

The Asia Cup battle, where the first edition was played in 1984, has witnessed 16 editions, saw India taking the cup 8 times, followed by Sri Lanka who are 6 times winners and Pakistan with two titles. In none of these editions, have India and Pakistan clashed in the finals. Bangladesh have reached the finals thrice, but have yet to get their title. India have beaten Bangladesh twice and Pakistan have beaten Bangladesh twice in their three final outings. This will be the 17th Asia Cup final. All the Asia Cup tournaments have been One Day International formats, while 2016, 2022 and 2025 have been T20I formats. This is the summary of titles of the Asia Cup since its inception in 1984.

Playing XI in Pak-Bangla Match

Bangladesh: Saif Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Zakir Ali (captain, wicketkeeper), Nurul Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (captain), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.