India arrive in the contest with six consecutive wins against Pakistan.
Round 2 of India vs Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 will take place at the Dubai International Stadium later today. India were clinical in the first test and won the contest by a comprehensive seven-wicket margin, as Pakistan never arrived.
The quality of the skillsets between the teams is so wide that most encounters are one-sided in an otherwise hyped rivalry. As temperatures – both atmospherically and emotionally – rise, Ravichandran Ashwin has made a strong claim ahead of the fixture, stating that even if Pakistan were to test India, it would be an upset in itself, highlighting how far ahead India are.
“If Pakistan even competes in this game, it’ll be an upset. There aren’t too many concerns to address for India. If I were India, I would want Pakistan to challenge them with the T20 World Cup around the corner,” exclaimed Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
India arrive in the contest with six consecutive wins across formats against the arch-rivals and eight in the last 10 attempts if we stretch the sample size. That’s how one-sided the rivalry has been, and despite all the off-field build-ups, the gap between the two sides always shows on the field, and another one-sided affair won’t surprise.
India are comfortably the best side in the Asia Cup 2025, with most bases covered and few weaknesses to exploit. However, Oman showed they can be challenged with some strong plans and precise execution, even if India were experimenting and didn’t play with their full strength.
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For Pakistan, the key will be to bat smartly and ensure targeting the right matchups rather than going all out against all bowlers. Obviously, the skill set issue remains, but they still have enough quality to at least put on a better show than the last time.
Fortunately, the surface won’t be flat, which could have taken Pakistan completely out of the game, and their bowlers will always remain in the game. Even when these two sides met last time, bowlers did a decent job and restricted Indian batters at times, especially with a slightly older ball.
The spin department has enough quality, and it will be up to the batters to bat smartly and support them in the other innings. Winning against India is too uphill a task; the priority should be to play to the maximum potential and see how far they can push them, which, as Ashwin pointed out, will be an achievement in itself.
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