The Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday (September 28) will be a historic moment in the tournament's history. For the first time in 41 years, India and Pakistan will be facing each other in an Asia Cup final. Regardless of who wins this fixture, the match will be remembered forever for being a first. It is now upto the two teams to provide us a game fitting of a tournament final. They have produced a few cracking games in recent years, most notably in T20 World Cup 2022 and in Asia Cup 2022 but the two duels in this tournament have been one-sided so far. Will that change in the final? Only time will tell.
This is the 13th instance of an India-Pakistan final with Pakistan leading 8-4 over their arch-rivals. The stats are a bit deceptive, though, as they have only played in three finals since 2000 and none since 2017. However, statistics are there for a reason and this one is in favour of Pakistan. Let us look back at the 12 finals between the two sides.
Today, there is a sizeable crowd.#INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/CcOeBr2P4A
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) September 28, 2025
World Championship of Cricket 1985
Kapil Dev (3-23) and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (3-35) ensured that Pakistan could only muster 176/9 from their 50 overs. Javed Miandad (48) and Imran Khan (35) showed resistance but the veteran duo weren't able to bat deep into the innings. India then made short work of the chase with Kris Srikkanth's 77-ball 67 and his century opening stand with Ravi Shastri (63* off 148) who batted right through till the end. It took India 47.1 overs but the game was never close at any point and they lost just two wickets.
Sharjah Cup 1986
The famous Javed Miandad six that is part of folklore since ages. Chasing a competitive target of 246, his brilliant 116* singlehandedly took Pakistan to glory. No other batter from his side got to 50 and with five needed off the last ball, a six was the least possible outcome. Until Miandad nailed it. His hundred meant that the fifties from Kris Srikkanth (75), Sunil Gavaskar (92) and Dilip Vengsarkar (50) went in vain.
Sharjah Cup 1991
A crushing win for Pakistan as Aaqib Javed (7-37) destroyed India's batting line-up to set up a 72-run win for his side. Sanjay Manjrekar's 52 and Vinod Kambli's 30 were the only acts of defiance but they mattered little amidst Javed's firecracker spell. Pakistan had earlier posted a strong total of 262 thanks to Zahid Fazal's 98 and Saleem Malik's 87 with the pair adding 171 for the third wicket, a match-defining one.
Sharjah Cup 1994
A much closer final but Pakistan still emerged victorious by 39 runs, a fairly big margin. Saeed Anwar (47) and Aamir Sohail (69) set the base for Pakistan's competitive total of 250 while Basit Ali's quickfire 57 gave a strong finish to the total. India needed a similarly strong platform from their top order but that never happened as they were reduced to 83/4 in no time. Vinod Kambli (56) and Atul Bedade (44) kept India in the hunt with an 80-run stand but Pakistan were never really threatened.
Independence Cup 1998 (Best of 3 finals)
Tendulkar's all-round brilliance ensured a one-sided win for India as they smashed Pakistan by eight wickets and 12.5 overs to spare. He took 3/45 and ensured that Pakistan could only get to 212/8 from 46 overs. With a modest target to chase, Tendulkar blazed his way to a 78-ball 95 and added a 159-run opening stand from just 25 overs with Sourav Ganguly (68).
Pakistan then reversed the result with a one-sided win of their own. Mohaammad Hussain (4-33) and Saqlain Mushtaq (3-36) nipped India's batting line-up in the bud, restricting them to a paltry 189. In reply, Pakistan finished it with 18.3 overs to spare as all batters made merry led by Saeed Anwar's 40-ball 51.
The decider was worth its weight in gold as both teams dished out a historic game with India recording the highest ODI run chase of all time at that point. Sourav Ganguly (124) and Robin Singh (82) led India's pursuit while Hrishikesh Kanitkar etched his name in history with a boundary off the last ball with three needed to win. Anwar's 140 and Ijaz Ahmed's 117 had taken Pakistan to 316, seemingly a winning score but it was a day when cricket saw something truly special from India.
Pepsi Cup 1999
A game to forget for India who were absolutely hammered in this summit clash. Not having Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin didn't help, putting a lot more pressure on stand-in captain Ajay Jadeja, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. The trio couldn't deliver as India fell well short of Pakistan's total of 291. Azhar Mahmood's five-wicket haul knocked the wind out of India's sails. Inzamam-ul-Haq's 91 and Shahid Afridi's brisk 65 were the main contributors for Pakistan whose total was well above-par on a sticky surface.
Sharjah Cup 1999
If the Pepsi Cup final was a shocker, this one was beyond embarrassing as Pakistan's pace attack shot India out for just 125. Wasim Akram (3-11) set the tone while Azhar Mahmood and Saqlain Mushtaq also kept the pressure on. Pakistan then cantered to victory without breaking much of a sweat, losing just two wickets in the process.
T20 World Cup 2007
The first-ever T20 World Cup tournament and a India-Pakistan thriller to end things, pure box office. Sreesanth's catch to seal the win is now part of world cricket folklore. Gautam Gambhir's 75 was the backbone of India's innings that didn't have any other notable contributions. Rohit Sharma's 16-ball 30 gave a perfect finish to the innings but 157 didn't look a threatening total. RP Singh's new-ball burst had Pakistan in trouble but Misbah-ul-Haq's 43 and Imran Nazir's 14-ball 33 kept Pakistan afloat even as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Misbah seemingly had the game in the bag for Pakistan before that famous scoop shot found Sreesanth at short fine leg. Irfan Pathan (3-16) and Joginder Sharma (2-20) also did their job brilliantly.
Kitply Cup 2008
A high-scoring game that Pakistan sealed by a 25-run margin. Centuries from Salman Butt (129) and Younis Khan (108) powered Pakistan to a towering total of 315 from 50 overs. India were in the hunt till the end, especially when Yuvraj Singh (56) and MS Dhoni (64) were going great guns towards the back end. However, the Indian captain had to do a lot of the heavy-lifting alone and was the last man to fall with India short of the target. Umar Gul was sensational for Pakistan with a four-fer, scathing with the new-ball and lethal at the death.
Champions Trophy 2017
A result that nobody saw coming. Pakistan were at their lowest and India were on a roll. However, Sarfaraz Ahmed's men peaked at the right time in the tournament and upstaged India comfortably in the final. Fakhar Zaman survived being dismissed due to a Jasprit Bumrah no-ball and smashed 114 to lead Pakistan's mighty batting effort of 338/4. Azhar Ali (59) and Mohammad Hafeez (57) also contributed, as it did the other Pakistan batters too, in a collective effort. Mohammad Amir then killed the game inside the first Powerplay itself, by dismissing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. From 33/3, there was no coming back and if not for Hardik Pandya's 43-ball 76, the margin of defeat would have been much more embarrassing.
