India have won the toss and decided to bowl first against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
While India has already defeated Pakistan twice in earlier stages of the tournament, the final is expected to be a different contest altogether.
This is the first time that the two arch-rivals are meeting in the final of the Asia Cup final.
Pakistan qualified for the final after defeating Bangladesh by 11 runs in a crucial Super Four match, effectively a semi-final.
Historically, Pakistan and India have faced each other in five tournament finals across various competitions. Pakistan leads this rivalry with three wins, while India has emerged victorious twice.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, captain Salman expressed confidence in his team, saying: “We’re hopeful of a strong performance in the final. Our goal is to win the cup, and we won’t repeat past mistakes.”
He acknowledged the pressure both teams face and hinted that Pakistan may have saved its best batting for the final. The playing XI, he said, will be finalised after assessing pitch conditions.
Meanwhile, India are missing their key all-rounder Hardik Pandya for the important game.
Squads
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
Pakistan XI: Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
