3 player battles to watch out for in India vs Pakistan, Match 14 of 2025 Asia Cup ft. Abhishek Sharma

India will take on Pakistan in the Super Fours stage of the ongoing 2025 Asia Cup at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, on Sunday, September 21. This will be the second time that the arch-rivals will square off in the edition.

The Suryakumar Yadav-led side secured a clinical seven-wicket win over the Men in Green at the same venue in the group stage. After electing to bat first, Pakistan registered 127/9 in 20 overs.

Pacer Shaheen Afridi's impactful unbeaten 33-run knock off 16 balls helped the side get to a respectable score. Opener Sahibzada Farhan scored 40 runs, but at an underwhelming strike rate of 90.91.

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 4-0-18-3. India chased the target in 15.5 overs. Skipper Suryakumar remained unbeaten on 47 off 37 balls, while Abhishek Sharma contributed 31 off just 13 balls.

Suryakumar Yadav and Co. are currently unbeaten in the tournament, having claimed three consecutive wins. Pakistan, on the other hand, have won two out of their three matches so far.

Here, we take a look at three player battles to look out for in IND vs PAK 2025 Asia Cup clash.

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#1 Abhishek Sharma (India) vs Saim Ayub (Pakistan)

Opening batter Abhishek Sharma has looked in good touch in the 2025 Asia Cup. He has helped his team get off to flying starts with his explosive knocks. The southpaw has amassed 99 runs across three innings at a stunning strike rate of 225.

Pakistan's opener Saim Ayub has had a horrible tournament with the bat, registering three back-to-back ducks. However, he has done an impressive job as a bowler. The spinner has even bowled with the new ball for Pakistan and bagged six wickets from three games.

Ayub picked up three wickets against India in the league stage. While Abhishek has a strike rate of 208.77 against spin in T20Is, he has been dismissed by spinners eight times in 14 innings.

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#2 Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan) against Kuldeep Yadav (India)

Pakistan would want their veteran batter Fakhar Zaman to go all guns blazing in the crucial encounter. The left-handed batter has a dismal T20I record against India, with just 55 runs to his name from four innings at a strike rate of 117.02.

Fakhar has scored 90 runs across three innings and is Pakistan's highest run-scorer at the 2025 Asia Cup. The 35-year-old could face a tough challenge in the form of left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, claiming eight wickets from three games at an economy rate of 5.23. He has just bowled two balls to Fakhar so far in T20Is.

However, Kuldeep has dominated the battle against Fakhar in ODIs. Fakhar has faced the crafty spinner thrice in the 50-over format. Kuldeep succeeded in dismissing the dangerous batter in all three innings.

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav (India) against Haris Rauf (Pakistan)

Suryakumar Yadav was India's top performer with the bat in the team's seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the group stage. However, Pakistan were without speedster Haris Rauf for the fixture.

The star batter has struggled against Rauf in the past. The fast bowler has managed to dismiss the star batter twice in eight balls. Rauf bowled an impressive spell against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), finishing with figures of 2.4-0-19-2.

Suryakumar did not bat in his team's previous match against Oman and has scored 54 runs in two innings. He hasn't been dismissed yet in the 2025 Asia Cup.