It will be their first meeting since the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The two cricketing giants and arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, will square off against each other at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 14. It will be their first meeting since the 2024 T20 World Cup clash, where India emerged triumphant by six runs.
Pakistan have started to create spin-friendly pitches back home in order to produce results in Test cricket, though they are traditionally known for producing quality fast-bowlers. However, under the new leadership duo of head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Agha, Pakistan seemed to have headed into a different direction, where they failed to reach the knockout stages of the ICC tournaments, including 2023 ODI World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy.
Among the few changes, two specific changes are – moved on from Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam and the spin centric strategy. In their Asia Cup 2025 campaign opener against Oman, Pakistan fielded five potential spin bowling options, including three specialist spinners. The conditions and pitches in UAE are also favouring their spin-centric strategy. Men in Green’s spin quartet featuring Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and Sufiyan Muqeem, took six wickets between them against minnows Oman, who are playing in their first-ever Asia Cup.
Last week, in the tri-series final against Afghanistan, their spinners ripped apart the Rashid Khan-led side’s batting lineup, sharing nine wickets out of 10, with Nawaz claiming a fifer, including a hat-trick.
The impact of Pakistan’s spinner can be evident from the number of wickets taken by them in the current year. The spin attack-led by Nawaz has taken 67 wickets in 20 matches in 2025, averaging an impressive 18.76 and economy of 7.12.
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Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has observed Pakistan’s spin-heavy bowling strategy could impose a huge challenge for India in the upcoming high-profile clash on Sunday.
“I like this bowling combination because it’s India vs Pakistan, and I feel this attack might give the Indian batters something different to think about,” Manjrekar said on Sony Sports Network. “They’ve played Pakistan in world events before, but usually against a certain kind of attack. This is completely different — hardly any pace on show — and maybe Wasim [Akram] would hate it.”
He added, “Batting will need a little improvement against India, but credit to Mike Hesson for making the most of the resources he has. Saim Ayub has hardly bowled for Pakistan in the past, but under Hesson, he’s bowled in almost 90% of the innings. This shows a new approach, and that’s exciting because it’s refreshing to see Pakistan try something different.”
However, India also boasts their quality spinners in their attack, who played a major part in bowling out UAE for a meagre 57-run total. India have lost 39 wickets to spinners in 21 T20I matches since their 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. India have three left-hand and right-hand batters each in their top six, followed by Hardik Pandya and southpaw Axar Patel, who can also play a floater’s role. This will also help the defending champions to keep the left-hand and right-hand combination in the middle, not allowing them to settle down. Additionally, the Indian batters are considered to be good batters against spin bowling. Hence, it would be interesting to see how India will tackle Pakistan’s spin-centric strategy.
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