Dubai, Sep 14: Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against India in a hugely anticipated Group A clash of the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday, with both sides sticking to unchanged playing elevens from their previous outings.

While India thrashed the UAE by nine wickets in their opening game of the tournament, Pakistan beat Oman by 93 runs in their first match. India skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who turns 35 on Sunday, said he was happy with what he got.

“We were looking to bowl first, happy with it. We played just one strip away, which was a nice wicket and better to bat on in the night. It's humid, so hoping for some dew,” he said.

Pakistan captain Salman Agha said he was happy with his decision to bat first, which came as a surprise considering Dubai is a chasing-friendly venue. “We've been playing good cricket, very excited. Looks like a slow wicket. Just want to bat first and put runs on the board. Have been here for 20-odd days and used to the conditions,” he said.

In his pitch report, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar felt the pitch seemed drier compared to the rest of the surfaces at the venue and that spin could be an important element. Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri also felt the same, adding that the pitch’s potential slow nature was evident in their playing eleven composition.

Sunday’s game in Dubai is also the first meeting in international cricket between India and Pakistan after heightened diplomatic tensions earlier this year. The game comes in the aftermath of a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, prompting India to launch Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure across the border and in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

As per a notification from the Union Sports Ministry, India can play Pakistan in "international and multilateral events", but can't engage in "bilateral sports events in each other's country". The tensions around the clash were visible when Suryakumar and Agha didn’t shake hands at toss time.

Playing XIs:

India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Varun Chakaravarthy.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Abrar Ahmed.

(IANS)

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