Ahead of the Super 4 stage of the 2025 Asia Cup, Suryakumar Yadav made it a point to mention that the competition resets following the conclusion of the group stage. On Sunday, September 21, India and Pakistan will lock horns once again at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. And like the Indian skipper mentioned, it will be a clean slate as far as the points table is concerned.
India were the runaway best team in the group stage, with convincing wins in all of their matches. Pakistan scraped through with a tense win over the United Arab Emirates, with their only defeat coming at the hands of their arch-rivals. While it's clear that the Men in Blue are the favorites for the encounter, their opponents can't be taken lightly.
India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Pakistan's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.
2025 Asia Cup: Unbeaten India start as favorites vs struggling Pakistan

India are the clear favorites for this game despite their slightly unconvincing win over Oman. Suryakumar and company were clearly low on intensity for that clash and are expected to witness the returns of their two key bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan, in the post Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan era, haven't been able to get things right. Saim Ayub has notched up three ducks in a row, while captain Salman Ali Agha has eaten up deliveries through the middle overs. Their condition would be a lot worse if not for some unexpected sixes from Shaheen Afridi and some unexpected wickets from Ayub.
Pakistan are an unpredictable side, and they've often found a way to challenge India even when being far from their best. On Sunday, however, they aren't likely to be in with a shout and might find it difficult to even compete against the best T20I side in the competition and in the world.
Prediction: India to win Match 14 of Asia Cup 2025.
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