Asia Cup: Pakistan fold for 127 as Indian spinners dominate

An India vs Pakistan match is normally the heartbeat of any global cricket tournament. However, that buzz was conspicuously missing from Sunday's Asia Cup 2025 contest at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, which remained partially empty despite the high-octane nature of the contest between the arch-rivals, who faced each other for the first time since the barbaric terror attacks in Pahalgam, that left 26 innocent Indians dead.

- Tridid Baparnash New Delhi, 14 September

On the field too, the bonhomie among the players was missing. This could also be attributed to the fact that both sides had more than half of their Playing XI facing each other for the first time in their careers. The pressure was more on the Pakistanis after Salman Ali Agha elected to bat on winning the toss, and at one point they struggled to get past 100 before Shaheen Shah Afridi's late burst helped them post a below-par 127/9.

On a fresh track that offered turn, the relatively inexperienced Pakistan top order struggled against a relentless Indian attack.