Long-time rivals India and Pakistan are set to lock horns on Sunday for the Group A encounter of the 2025 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium, despite mounting backlash related to the devastating Pahalgam attack of April 22.
This will be India's first match with Pakistan since the ICC Champions Trophy match on February 23 this year, which was also held at the Dubai International Stadium. India won that match by 6 wickets (45 balls left).
The India vs Pakistan Asia Cup clash will be telecast live on the Sony Sports Network, and can also be streamed on the Sony Liv mobile application and website. The match will also be available on OTTPlay.
1️⃣4️⃣0️⃣ crore dil ek saath dhadkenge 💙
— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) September 1, 2025
Computer ji, lock kar dijiye #MenInBlue ki jeet #AsiaCup2025 mein! 🖥️
Watch all the action from the Asia Cup - starting 9th September on #SonyLIV & Sony Sports Network TV Channels 📺 pic.twitter.com/CjP8jCSHzw
The two sides have faced each other in 13 T20Is, with India winning 10 times. In the last five T20I games, the 'Men in Blue' have won three matches, while the 'Green Army' have won two times.
Both nations opened their Asia Cup campaign in a strong manner—managing to bowl out their respective oppositions to two-digit scores.
While India on Wednesday secured a nine-wicket win against the UAE after bowling them out for 57 runs, Pakistan registered a 93-run win on Friday after Oman could only manage 67 runs during the run-chase.
However, unlike regular matches between the two arch-rivals, this match was quickly made a political issue after scores of netizens from India called it insensitive and urged that it be boycotted.
#WATCH | Kanpur, UP: On upcoming India vs Pakistan match in Asia Cup 2025, Aishanya Dwivedi - wife of Pahalgam terror attack victim Shubham Dwivedi, says, "BCCI should not have accepted a match between India and Pakistan...I think BCCI is not sentimental towards those 26… pic.twitter.com/1tAu9wjqSo
— ANI (@ANI) September 13, 2025
This is because the match comes many months after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 killed 26 people, which led to India's Operation Sindoor: a series of precision strikes against terrorist infrastructure on Pakistani soil.
This again led to an 88-hour conflict between the two neighbours, which ended with a ceasefire.
In this regard, it remains to be seen how tensions will surface on the pitch today, where India is expected to dominate.
