Australia’s Ash Gardner hits a 77-ball century as the defending champions secure an 89-run victory in their opening match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup against New Zealand.
MATCH REPORT: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – Australia v New Zealand
Available to UK users only.
Australia are the team to beat in this tournament and Alyssa Healy’s side showed signs of the quality that has seen them rack up so many global titles.
While not at their best against their Trans-Tasman rivals, the overwhelming quality of their line-up was enough to dig their side out of the occasional holes they found themselves in over the course of the match.
Healy’s side is star-studded, and strong enough that it could omit Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham, Heather Graham and Megan Schutt, all players of sufficient quality to be signed as overseas players in the recent Hundred season.
Gardner starred with 16 fours and one six in her aggressive innings, but she was supported by a lower order that bats deep, with McGrath (26), Sophie Molineux (14) and Garth (38) all chipping in useful runs.
Molineux and Darcie Brown bowled superbly in the powerplay, with the former bowling Suzie Bates in the second over after Georgia Plimmer had been run-out without facing.
Alana King took the crucial middle-order wickets of Melie Kerr and Brooke Halliday to deprive Devine of two potential long-term partners at the crease, while Sutherland conceded just 25 runs from her first eight overs.
It was her ninth that brought the game to its dramatic conclusion, with the all-rounder dismissing Devine then Jess Kerr and Eden Carson with consecutive deliveries for a triple-wicket maiden, before Molineux (3-25) wrapped up the match by having Illing caught behind in the following over.
India staged a brilliant comeback after a middle-order collapse to beat Sri Lanka by 59 runs in a rain-affected opening match of the Women’s World Cup in Guwahati.
The hosts lost four wickets for four runs in the space of 11 balls, including three in the 26th over for spinner Inoka Ranaweera, which saw them slip to 124-6.
But Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma produced a match-winning partnership of 103 for the seventh wicket as Sri Lanka were unable to maintain their initial discipline in the field, with the former dropped four times on her way to 57.
Sneh Rana added some late impetus with 28 from 15 balls and Sharma fell for 53 from the last ball of the innings as India recovered to post a competitive 269-8 from 47 overs, with three overs lost from rain delays.
That saw Sri Lanka’s target revised to 271 from the same amount of overs, and they made a promising start by reaching 82-1 but skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s dismissal for 43 at the end of the 15th over stalled their progress.
Athapaththu’s second-wicket stand of 52 with Harshitha Samarawickrama kept the visitors in the game, but they lacked India’s batting depth and could not recover from a slump to 140-6 and they were eventually bowled out for 211 in the 46th over.
Sharma added figures of 3-54 to her half-century as India entertained a lively crowd of 22,843 – a record for a Women’s World Cup group game – while fellow spinners Sneh Rana and Shree Charani took 2-32 and 2-37 respectively.
The tournament continues with defending champions Australia taking on New Zealand in Indore on Wednesday, while England start their campaign against South Africa on Friday.
Watch as wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh makes an excellent catch to dismiss Kavisha Dilhari and give India their fifth wicket against Sri Lanka at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
FOLLOW LIVE: Women’s World Cup: India v Sri Lanka
Available to UK users only.
India’s cricket team hoisted an imaginary trophy after winning the 2025 Asia Cup against Pakistan, refusing to accept the real one from Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The match came four months after a brief aerial war between the two nuclear-armed rivals over a deadly attack on a tourist area in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Published On 29 Sep 202529 Sep 2025
Share
As well as bearing the pressure of her first tournament in charge, Sciver-Brunt’s all-round performances will also go a long way to deciding England’s fortunes.
So often, she is their sole saviour with the bat but she will at least have the comfort of Knight’s return from injury, providing extra stability and maturity in the middle order which they lacked against India this summer.
Edwards wasted no time in changing England’s opening partnership, reinstating Amy Jones with Tammy Beaumont, but again it was difficult to take too much from their back-to-back stands of more than 200 against West Indies considering the weakness of the bowling attack.
They were far less convincing against a superior India, with a stand of 54 sandwiched between partnerships of eight and seven.
England are also very inexperienced in India as only Knight, Beaumont and Danni Wyatt-Hodge have 10 or more ODIs to their name here – though they are more familiar with the conditions from the Women’s Premier League, a T20 franchise tournament.
In terms of the bowling, much will also depend on how many overs Sciver-Brunt can deliver, having not bowled since the Ashes because of an Achilles problem.
Edwards made the bold call to omit the experienced Kate Cross from the squad, which leaves Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer and Em Arlott as the quicks and Sarah Glenn, Charlie Dean and world number one Sophie Ecclestone as the spinners.
Bell has quickly become one of the first names on the England team sheet over the past two years, but there are still a lot of unknowns about the surfaces in India and Sri Lanka, with their group games due to be played at four different venues.
If the surfaces do not offer much spin, especially in the early stages, England could find themselves a seamer light or lacking Cross’ experience, with Arlott and Filer still searching for consistency in international cricket.
Arlott is also the only new addition to the squad since the Ashes, another indication that England’s depth is yet to materialise in order to challenge the mainstays, though it was always unlikely the team would see wholesale changes from the summer considering the enormity of the challenge of this tournament and the need for experience.
EXPLAINER
From tournament format to venues and top players to watch, here’s Al Jazeera’s guide to the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Published On 29 Sep 202529 Sep 2025
Share
Women’s cricket will take centre stage when eight nations compete in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Women’s World Cup 2025 in India and Sri Lanka from Tuesday.
Australia are the defending champions and record seven-time winners of the one-day international (ODI) competition , but in-form India are favourites to break their World Cup drought at home.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament:
The World Cup begins when India host Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday and will conclude with the final on Sunday, November 2.
While India was confirmed as the tournament’s official host earlier this year, Sri Lanka was added as a neutral venue for games involving Pakistan.
It came as a result of an ICC-brokered agreement between India and Pakistan that allows both countries the option of playing their games at a neutral venue for a tournament hosted by either South Asian nation. The neighbours have not visited each other for a bilateral cricket competition in 13 years and shared an intense four-day military and aerial conflict in May.
Guwahati is set to host the first semifinal but the venue will change to Colombo if Pakistan qualify for the last four.
Navi Mumbai will host the second semifinal, which will be India’s designated last-four clash if they qualify.
The venue for the final can also be moved to Colombo should Pakistan enter their first Women’s World Cup final.
India qualified on the basis of their hosting rights, while Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka qualified as the top five teams in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25.
Bangladesh and Pakistan entered the tournament by finishing first and second in the World Cup qualifiers.
The archrivals will face-off on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
India have beaten Pakistan in all ODI matches played between the two nations since 2005, with their last win coming at the ICC World Cup 2022 in South Africa.
The tournament’s main round will be played in the round-robin format between September 30 and October 26.
The top four teams at the end of the group stage will qualify for the semifinals on 29 and 30 October.
The final will be played on November 2.
The updated match schedule for #CWC25 is out now 🏆
All the action starts on 30 September! 🗓️
✍️: https://t.co/EArFubvvlg pic.twitter.com/yqYfPbHzbM
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) August 22, 2025
Tickets for all group-stage games are available on the ICC’s ticketing website, and prices start at $1.
Indian leader controversially refers to the politically-charged win as an extension of ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Published On 29 Sep 202529 Sep 2025
Share
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has contentiously invoked the conflict with Pakistan in May, which brought the nuclear-armed neighbours to the cusp of a fifth all-out war, to celebrate India’s Asia Cup final cricket win against their regional arch foes.
“#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” Modi posted on X on Monday.
list of 3 itemsend of list
Modi was referring to the four-day conflict between the two nations, with its focus on Indian-administered Kashmir, in May, following an attack that killed 22 tourists that India blamed on Pakistan, an accusation that Islamabad vehemently denies.
During the conflict, Modi announced “Operation Sindoor” as a response to the attack, which heightened tensions and led to retaliation from Pakistan. The short conflict killed more than 70 people in missile and drone attacks, with both sides claiming victory.
In June, an Indian naval officer conceded that the country lost several fighter jets to Pakistani fire during their conflict in May and said the losses were a result of “constraints” placed on Indian forces by the government in New Delhi.
India and Pakistan traded other slights after Indian cricket players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in the final of the Asia Cup, as tensions between the two countries remain heavily strained.
After India beat Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday by five wickets, the Indian team refused to accept the trophy from Asia Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chief of Pakistan’s Cricket Board (PCB) and Pakistan’s interior minister.
Simon Doull, a former New Zealand cricketer and broadcaster, announced, citing the ACC, that the Indian team would not be collecting their awards due to the tensions.
During the course of the tournament, the Indian team refused to shake hands with the Pakistan team in any of the three matches the two sides played.
Naqvi reportedly refused to step down from the presentation ceremony to hand out the award altogether.
Indian players Tilak Varma, who won the player-of-the-match award, Abhishek Sharma, who won the player-of-the-tournament award, and Kuldeep Yadav, who won the Most Valuable Player award, turned up to accept their individual awards but did not acknowledge Naqvi.
The Pakistani official was also the only person on stage who did not applaud the Indian trio.
In a post-match conference, Yadav said he had “never seen” a winning team denied their trophy.
But Pakistan’s captain, Salman Agha, accused India’s behaviour during the tournament of being “bad for cricket”.
“What they did today, a good team doesn’t do that. Good teams do what we have done. We waited for our medals and took them,” Agha said.
Indian cricket board (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia announced that the board will lodge a protest against Naqvi in the next meeting of the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) in November.
Indian captain Yadav was accused of making a political statement after the first match, while Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan and pacer Haris Rauf made political gestures in the second.
Varma hits 69 not out as India chase 146 after coming into bat at 10-2 in a nervy end to the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai.
Tilak Varma held his nerve with an unbeaten innings of 69 runs as he steered India home in a five-wicket win over Pakistan in a gripping and controversial final of the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai.
Coming into bat with India two wickets down for 10 runs in the third over, Varma weathered the storm while wickets fell at the other end as India chased 147 in the politically charged tournament decider on Sunday, where the champions refused to accept the winner’s trophy from the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
list of 3 itemsend of list
It was the third India vs Pakistan match of the tournament and once again, the fixture was marred by controversy as the post-match presentation ceremony was delayed by more than an hour due to unexplained reasons as players and tournament organisers waited on the ground.
Once the ceremony got under way, it was revealed by presenter Simon Doull that the Indian cricket team had refused to attend it and would not collect their winner’s medals and the Asia Cup trophy, ostensibly from Naqvi, who is also chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan’s Minister for Interior.
“Indian team refuses to accept Asia Cup winners’ trophy from Pakistan minister and ACC head Mohsin Naqvi,” the Press Trust of India reported after the ceremony concluded.
However, India’s player of the final Varma, top batter Abhishek Sharma and bowler Kuldeep Yadav did walk up to the presentation area to collect their cheques, albeit not from Naqvi.
Minutes later, India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav and his teammates cheered with a mock trophy as they celebrated their ninth Asia Cup title.
India’s win was built around their 22-year-old batter Varma’s measured innings , which came off 53 balls and included four sixes and three fours.
The run chase was dented in the second over when their star batter and the tournament’s leading run-scorer Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for five runs by Pakistan’s medium-pace bowler Faheem Ashraf on the first ball of India’s second over. He fell to a mistimed attempt at a six and was caught at mid-on.
Suryakumar Yadav followed soon after, when Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed him for one run as the Indian captain hit his fifth ball straight to mid-off, where his Pakistani counterpart Salman Agha took a diving catch.
It was then up to Varma and opener Gill to steady the ship for India, but Gill departed nine balls later to Ashraf. Wicketkeeper Sanju Samson chipped in with an innings of 24 off 21 before falling to leg-spin bowler Abrar Ahmed.
New batter Shivam Dube, who had earlier taken on the responsibility of opening the bowling for India in the absence of Hardik Pandya, played a supporting role to Varma’s innings.
While Pakistan bowled well, they were not fully supported by the fielders as two catches were dropped and a crucial run-out chance was missed by wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, who was slow to remove the bails as Varma dived in.
Varma made Pakistan pay as he and Dube took India on the verge of victory, only for Dube to fall with six balls and nine runs left.
Rinku Singh, who replaced Pandya in the final, faced one ball and hit the winning runs off it to spark celebrations in the Indian camp.
Earlier, Pakistan began their innings brightly as Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave them an opening stand of 84, before Farhan was dismissed for 57 off 38 in the 10th over.
Zaman (46 off 35) then formed a brief partnership with Saim Ayub, who scored 14 runs, but once they were dismissed, none of the Pakistan batters could post more than nine runs .
The team in green crashed from 113-2 to 146 all out in 38 balls as they finished their innings in 19.1 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India as he picked four wickets for 30 runs in his four overs. Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy took a wicket apiece.
Yadav ended the tournament as its leading wicket – taker with 17, while Sharma was the top batter with 314 runs.
Nepal beat the West Indies by 19 runs in the first of their three T20I matches in Sharjah, spurring wild celebrations.
Published On 28 Sep 202528 Sep 2025
Share
Cricket fans in Nepal are celebrating their team’s historic win over the West Indies in a T20 international match, the country’s first-ever triumph over a Test-playing nation.
Nepal defeated the two-time former world champions by 19 runs in the first fixture of their three-match T20I series in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Nepal’s fans cheered for their team wildly in the stands at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium well after the match had ended, and the celebrations continued overnight back in the South Asian nation.
After being asked to bat first, Nepal posted a competitive total of 148-8 in their 20 overs, with contributions from captain Rohit Paudel (38) and middle-order batter Kushal Malla (30).
The Rhinos then put on a spirited bowling and fielding performance to restrict the West Indies, who won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016, led by Kushal Bhurtel’s spell of 2-17 from his four overs.
🇳🇵A new chapter written in Nepal’s cricketing story! 📣
Rhinos 🇳🇵 defeats West Indies by 19 runs our first-ever triumph against a full member nation! pic.twitter.com/98cJlLMAwP
— CAN (@CricketNep) September 27, 2025
The win represents a major milestone for the rising cricketing nation.
“It is a historic win for us and helps improve our players’ standing in the cricketing world,” Chatur Bahadur Chand, president of the Cricket Association of Nepal, told the AFP news agency.
Nepali fans in replica team shirts cheered and waved the national flag as they watched the game in the stadium, TV images showed.
“It was not expected, but as the game progressed, we saw there was a chance we could win,” said Pujan Thapa, 27, who watched the game with family and friends on TV in Kathmandu.
“We were so happy, we stood up and danced.”
The win came as Nepal recovers from deadly anticorruption protests that killed at least 72 people and toppled the government.
Paudel dedicated the win to the protesters who lost their lives, saying it was for “the martyrs back home”, and that it would be great if they could give people “a little bit of happiness”.
Former chief selector Dipendra Chaudhary said the win was a result of the team’s hard work.
“It will motivate them to play well and inspire other young cricketers,” he said.
Social media platforms were also flooded with congratulatory messages for the players.
Cricket has been growing in popularity in the mountainous nation, with Nepal given one-day international status by the world governing body ICC in 2018.
Nepal made its ICC T20 World Cup debut in 2014 and returned to the tournament in 2024, when it came agonisingly close to defeating eventual finalists South Africa.
Follow our live build-up, with toss and team news coverage, before our full text commentary stream of the final.
Published On 28 Sep 202528 Sep 2025
Share
Cricket players, fans, experts and officials must let the sport return to a “moment of sanity” when India and Pakistan meet in the final of the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, says former player and administrator Ramiz Raja.
Millions of fans – in both South Asian countries and across the world – will watch and follow the game with bated breath as the heated rivalry unfolds at Dubai International Cricket Stadium for the third time in 15 days.
list of 3 itemsend of list
“The temperature must be lowered and all eyes should be on the game of cricket,” Raja told Al Jazeera on the eve of the final.
“It is not only the responsibility of the cricket boards and players but also the fans, stakeholders, and social media commentators to demonstrate astuteness because the emotions are still raw. Everyone needs a moment of sanity.”
The build-up to the final has been dominated by actions that have little to do with the sport itself – be it a no-handshake row, politically loaded statements, controversial gesturing or complaints lodged with the game’s governing body, which responded by giving both sides a slap on the wrist.
The match will be played in the aftermath of disciplinary hearings, which were carried out by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) lodged complaints over the rival players’ statements and gestures.
India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav was the first to appear for a hearing at the ICC headquarters in Dubai on Thursday. The PCB took objection to his mention of “Operation Sindoor” – the military operation carried out by India’s armed forces in Pakistan in May – during his post-match comments following India’s seven-wicket win on September 14.
Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf were also summoned to the ICC headquarters on Friday for their gestures during the second meeting between the two sides on September 21, when India won the Super Fours fixture by six wickets.
Farhan mimicked a gunshot to celebrate his maiden half-century against India, and Rauf was seen responding to the crowd’s heckling by gesturing the downing of aircraft and holding up his fingers to represent the number six, an alleged reference to Pakistan’s claims of downing six Indian air force planes during the four-day conflict.
ICC match referee Richie Richardson conducted the hearings.
Al Jazeera understands that Yadav and Rauf were handed a fine of 30 percent of their respective match fee, while Farhan was let off with a warning by Richardson.
The ICC has not officially announced the sanctions. Al Jazeera reached out to the ICC for a comment on the hearings, but has not received a response.
With the off-field theatrics dealt with, Raja believes the attention must return to the on-field action.
“The ICC’s decision to fine players on both sides must have reduced the pressure on them [players] and helped redefine the rules of engagement [for the final],” he explained.
Raja, who has also been at the helm of the PCB in the past, said the circumstances turned grave in the aftermath of Yadav’s comments and the Pakistani players’ gestures, and it was a turmoil that both parties could have avoided.
The match on Sunday will mark the first India vs Pakistan final in the Asia Cup – a fateful meeting that organisers, broadcasters and sponsors may have dreamt of in the 31 years since the tournament’s inception but were never able to pull off in its 15 iterations.
Bilateral cricket series and tours remain suspended between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, and any meeting at an ICC event or regional competition is a highly anticipated affair.
Raja, also a former Pakistan captain, has called on the players to refrain from letting the political tensions boil over onto the cricket field.
“It [mixing politics with sport] takes away the innocence of cricketers, as they are not geared to engage in political rhetoric,” he said.
Raja played 38 international matches against India in a career spanning from 1984 to 1997.
“It is an unfamiliar territory for them [players]. They do not know how much and what needs to be said.”
Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha cut a picture of calm before the proverbial storm on Saturday, when he took questions from the media before the final.
He chose not to comment on the provocative questions about the Indian team and media, while reiterating his stance on playing “good cricket” in the final.
Meanwhile, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel, who spoke to the media late on Friday, also anticipated a tough fight between bat and ball.
“Let’s look forward to the battle on Sunday.”
Raja agreed and said the conversation should move on.
“The debate should be whether Pakistan will lift their game [in the final] or if it will be a third-time malfunction [against India].”
India have remained unbeaten on their way to the final, while Pakistan’s only defeats in the tournament have come against India.
Pakistan have now lost seven international matches to India, whom they last beat in September 2022.
Despite the one-sided results in recent years, India vs Pakistan remains the hottest-selling item in international cricket, and Raja believes politics has a lot to do with it.
“The entire world waits for this contest not because of the skill levels of the players or the quality of contest, but due to the political needle between these two countries,” he said.
On Sunday, though, Raja hopes the attention will return to the sport when India and Pakistan meet to write yet another historic chapter in their bitter rivalry.
Who: India vs Pakistan
What: T20 Asia Cup 2025 final
When: Sunday, September 28 at 14:30 GMT
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
India and Pakistan will face off in a high-stakes Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday, with political and on-field friction overshadowing their first title clash in the regional tournament.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Pakistan secured their place in the decider after edging past Bangladesh by 11 runs on Thursday, setting the stage for a blockbuster meeting with their neighbours and archrivals India.
Defending champions India were the first team to book a place in the final following their win over Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Suryakumar Yadav’s team finished their Super Fours campaign in a thrilling Super Over win over Sri Lanka on Friday.
Here’s what you need to know about the Asia Cup 2025 final:
The showdown comes months after an intense four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who have not played a bilateral series in more than a decade.
Their most recent meetings in the group stage and Super Four round of this Asia Cup saw India win both matches, but their skipper Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with counterpart Salman Agha.
Players from both sides also skipped post-match handshakes after both fixtures.
They have won all six of their matches in this 17th edition of the Asia Cup, played in the T20 format, and are chasing a record-extending ninth title.
Opener Abhishek Sharma has been in scintillating form with successive half-centuries, while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav leads the bowling charts with 12 wickets.
But their fielding has been suspect, with 12 dropped catches in the tournament so far.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy blamed the “ring of fire” created by the stadium’s 350 floodlights for the butter-fingered display.
“We have to pick up our fielding, and definitely, the fielding coach has a lot to say,” Chakravarthy said.
Pakistan, two-time Asia Cup champions, will rely on their pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rauf to provide early breakthroughs, while spinners Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz will aim to contain India’s powerful batting lineup.
Their batting, however, remains a concern after collapsing to 49-5 against Bangladesh before recovering to post 135-8, which proved to be a winning total.
Suryakumar downplayed the on-field rivalry after hammering Pakistan for the second time in the tournament, but coach Mike Hesson believes his team can throw up a challenge to the number one-ranked T20 side.
Pakistan have lifted the trophy on two occasions – in 2000 and 2012 – and qualified for the final five times.
India are seven-time Asia Cup champions, with 11 appearances in the final.
Pakistan’s last Asia Cup win over India came in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup in the UAE. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 71 runs in the Super Four clash, but it was Mohammad Nawaz’s 20-ball 41 that saw Pakistan home.
Since the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, the countries have met in 15 T20Is. India have won 12 times, including the first match in 2007, which was tied and then decided in a Super Over.
Two of Pakistan’s three wins came in Dubai.
Abhishek Sharma: The fact that the young top-order batter has managed to carve a spot in a highly competitive T20 Indian batting lineup marks Sharma as one to watch in the Asia Cup. The 24-year-old boasts the highest career strike rate of 198 among all batters in T20s, and backs it up with two centuries and five half-centuries in the format – three of those coming in his last three innings, including the Super Fours win against Pakistan.
Shaheen Shah Afridi: The former Pakistan captain has returned to form for his country and was the star turn in the crucial victory against Bangladesh. Although going wicketless in the two games against India at the tournament, the 25-year-old left-arm quick has taken eight wickets in the other three games, including his Player of the Match performance against the Tigers following figures of 3-17.
India are unbeaten in the Asia Cup and have not lost a T20 series since winning the World Cup in June 2024.
Last five results (most recent first): W-W-W-W-W
Pakistan’s form in T20s has been mixed for some time but at this edition of the Asia Cup, their only defeats have come against India, with four wins recorded overall at the tournament.
Last five results (most recent first): W-W-L-W-L
The holders are expected to go back to the same team that beat Pakistan in both the group and Super Fours stages.
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
Pakistan are expected to field the same XI that beat Sri Lanka.
Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (captain), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up ahead of our comprehensive photo and text commentary stream of the final from 09:30 GMT.
The match will be shown live on terrestrial and satellite channels, as well as live-streaming platforms across the world.
While tickets for the general stands are sold out, some are still available in the hospitality sections of the stadium, starting at $991 and can be purchased at the tournament’s official ticketing website.
India take all the way by Sri Lanka in final Super Fours match before Sunday’s Asia Cup final against Pakistan.
Published On 26 Sep 202526 Sep 2025
Share
Defending champions India survived Pathum Nissanka’s blistering hundred and some intense Super Over drama before beating Sri Lanka in a dead rubber to maintain their unbeaten run in the Asia Cup on Friday.
With India having already secured their place in Sunday’s final against Pakistan and Sri Lanka eliminated, the Super Fours clash was of merely academic interest, but it turned out to be the most exciting game of this year’s tournament.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Sri Lanka gave a good account of themselves and matched India’s 202-5 to force the Super Over after Nissanka (107) smashed the first individual hundred of this year’s tournament.
Sri Lanka, however, managed only two runs in the Super Over before losing both the wickets in five deliveries from Arshdeep Singh.
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav took three runs from the first delivery from Wanindu Hasaranga to seal their victory matter-of-factly.
Earlier, put into bat, 20-overs world champions India racked up the tournament’s first 200-plus total riding opener Abhishek Sharma’s third consecutive fifty in the tournament.
Abhishek, the world’s top-ranked T20 batter, maintained his red-hot form with a sizzling 61 off 31 balls.
Opening partner Shubman Gill fell for four,
and skipper Suryakumar’s (12) slump in form continued, but India did not really suffer as Abhishek raced to a 22-ball fifty.
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka removed Abhishek, but Tilak Varma, who made 49 not out, and Sanju Samson (39) maintained the pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
In their chase, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis for a duck in the first over, but cruised to 72-1 after the six powerplay overs.
India rested pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, while Hardik Pandya bowled just one over before leaving the field.
Nissanka needed 25 balls to bring up his fifty, and Kusal Perera (58) could not be denied his half-century either.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy broke the 127-run stand when he dismissed Perera.
Nissanka raced to a 52-ball hundred, but fell in the first ball of the last over, which ended with Sri Lanka also on 202-5, forcing the Super Over.
Bangladesh crumble as Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf take three wickets each in Super Fours match in Dubai.
Pakistan have set up a blockbuster Asia Cup 2025 final against archrivals India after defeating Bangladesh by 11 runs in a thrilling Super Fours match in Dubai.
Chasing 136 to win in a winners-take-all match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, Bangladesh’s batting collapsed dramatically in front of Pakistan’s pace bowling attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
list of 3 itemsend of list
Once Pakistan took the field after posting a meagre total of 135-8 in 20 overs, Afridi put on an authoritative display of fast bowling by picking up two wickets in his first two overs and ended with match figures of 3-17 in four overs.
Fellow pacer Haris Rauf contributed with three wickets of his own, two of which helped wrap up Bangladesh’s innings, while part-time, left-armed slow bowler Saim Ayub bowled a tidy spell of 2-16 from four overs.
Bangladesh opener Saif Hasan (18) formed brief partnerships with Mahedi Hasan (11) and Nurul Hasan (16), but none of the batting stands lasted long enough to see the team through.
Some late resistance by lower middle order batter Shamim Hossain (30) briefly raised the hopes of Bangladeshi fans, but once Shamim became Afridi’s third victim in the 17th over, Pakistan became clear favourites to wrap up the win.
Rishad Hossain, who had an excellent outing with the ball and in the field, hit two fours and a six in his innings of 16 but kept losing batting partners as Bangladesh’s innings came to a close on 124-9 in 20 overs.
Earlier, when Pakistan were sent in to bat by Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Jaker Ali, the decision paid off almost instantly as the Pakistani openers struggled to score runs.
Taskin Ahmed’s disciplined opening spell led to the dismissal of Sahibzada Farhan on the fourth ball of Pakistan’s innings while one-down batter Ayub fell in the next over to Mahedi.
Fakhar Zaman (13) and captain Salman Agha (19) formed a brief and sluggish partnership but could not hit a single six.
Rishad, who took two catches before coming on to bowl, dismissed Zaman in the seventh over and then sent back Hussain Talat in the ninth. Agha fell to Mustafizur Rahman between the two Rishad wickets as Pakistan were reduced to 49-5.
A lower order flourish from Mohammad Haris (31 off 17), Muhammad Nawaz (25 off 15) and Afridi (19 off 13) took Pakistan to 135-8 on a tricky Dubai pitch.
Afridi was named player of the match for his all-round heroics.
Pakistan will be especially delighted to see their premier pace bowler return to wicket-taking form before the final against bitter rivals India on Sunday.
The South Asian neighbours have already met twice in the tournament, and India recorded thumping wins on both occasions.
Sunday’s match, also to be played in Dubai, will be the first India-Pakistan clash in the final of the Asia Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1984.
Tensions have run high, and political standoffs have spilled onto the cricket field in both of the previous two meetings between the teams this month.
Fans can expect another politically charged match, especially with the trophy on the line.
Pakistan will hope it will be a case of third time lucky while India will look to complete a 3-0 drubbing in the tournament.
England all-rounder Chris Woakes was not considered for the upcoming Ashes series on fitness grounds and seems likely to miss out on a new central contract.
That may mean the end of a fantastic 12-year Test career, so we thought we’d mark it with a delightfully difficult quiz.
Woakes is one of 72 players to have scored 1,000 runs and taken 100 wickets in men’s Tests since World War Two. Can you name the other 71?
We’ve given you each player’s nationality, Test career span, total Test wickets and total Test runs as a hint. You’ve got 30 minutes, good luck!
Who: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
What: T20 Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours
When: Tuesday, September 23 at 6:30pm (14:30 GMT)
Where: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 11:00 GMT ahead of our comprehensive text commentary stream of the match.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka meet in their Super Fours match at the T20 Asia Cup 2025 knowing that a loss in Abu Dhabi could jeopardise their place in the tournament.
list of 3 itemsend of list
Both former champions have lost their opening games in the second phase of the regional competition, and the match on Tuesday will offer them a chance to revive their campaign for the final.
The top two teams from the round-robin style Super Fours will qualify for the final in Dubai on Sunday.
Bangladesh and India, the other Super Fours teams, each have two points on the board after their respective wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Six-time winners Sri Lanka were edged by the Tigers by four wickets in a closely fought match on Saturday, while Pakistan were handed a second defeat in eight days at the hands of India on Sunday.
Charith Asalanka’s team were unbeaten in Group B and will start as favourites against Pakistan, whom they have beaten in their last five T20 international (T20I) meetings.
For two-time champions Pakistan, the match will offer a chance to restore some pride after their two heavy losses against archrivals India.
India sit on top of the Super Fours table with two points and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.689, followed by Bangladesh, who have the same number of points but an NRR of 0.121.
The winner of Tuesday’s match could rank anywhere from first to third, based on their NRR, and the losing team, while still not out, must win their last match by a big margin and hope the other results go their way.
Points Table 📊
The Super 4️⃣s are off to a thrilling start, with 🇮🇳 & 🇧🇩 recording important wins in their respective rivalry clashes and occupy top spots.#DPWorldAsiaCup2025 #ACC pic.twitter.com/eRw9yRHzco
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) September 22, 2025
While Pakistan lead Sri Lanka in their overall T20I results, the Lions have been the dominant team in the format in the past six years.
Pakistan have beaten Sri Lanka 13 out of 23 times, but their last T20I win against the Lions came in 2019.
Pakistan have blown hot and cold in the T20 Asia Cup, having won against lower-ranked teams Oman and the UAE while losing both their matches against defending champions India.
As always, it is difficult to predict which Pakistan team – hot or cold – will turn up on match day.
Last five results (most recent first): L W L W W
Sri Lanka beat all three of their Group B opponents prior to the Super Fours loss against Bangladesh, but have had a mixed bag of results in T20Is in 2025. They beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in their bilateral series but lost 2-1 to Bangladesh a few weeks earlier.
Last five results (most recent first): L W W W W
Pakistan have, predictably, made a few changes to their playing XIs over the course of the tournament, and not all of them have paid off.
Belligerent batter Hasan Nawaz’s exclusion from the team that faced India on Sunday was met with criticism, especially as the player replacing him – Hussain Talat – did not improve on Nawaz’s performances.
Salman Agha’s team have also switched between playing two spinners and pace bowlers.
Nawaz and spinner Sufiyan Muqeem could return against Sri Lanka.
Predicted XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (captain), Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Hasan Nawaz/Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi/Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeem
Lower-order batter Kamil Mishara’s spot in the playing XI will be under scrutiny, given his low strike rate and scores in the last three matches. Janith Liyanage could replace Mishara on Tuesday.
Predicted XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wicketkeeper), Kamil Mishara/Janith Liyanage, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (captain), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara
Abhishek’s innings helps India chase 172 with seven balls to spare in their Super Fours cricket match against Pakistan in Dubai.
Published On 21 Sep 202521 Sep 2025
Share
A 105-run opening stand between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill helped defending champions India beat Pakistan by six wickets in their Asia Cup Super Four match, a second victory over their archrivals in the Twenty20 cricket tournament.
Put in to bat first in the match on Sunday, Pakistan set India a target of 172, which they reached with seven balls remaining.
list of 3 itemsend of list
There was no handshake between the teams’ players yet again, with the match played amid lingering tensions between the two nations in the wake of a military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.
There was clear tension between both sets of players it threatened to bubble over in India’s innings as Pakistan’s fast bowler Haris Rauf appeared to exchage heated words with Sharma and Gill.
Put in to bat first, Pakistan had a 72-run partnership between Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub for the second wicket that laid the foundation for its innings after Fakhar Zaman (15) fell early.
Farhan, who was dropped in the first over by Sharma, completed his half-century in 34 balls, steering Pakistan to 91-1 after 10 overs.
But Pakistan could not hit a single boundary in the next six overs as Ayub (21), Hussain Talat (10) and Farhan (58 off 45) got out in quick succession.
Unbeaten knocks from captain Salman Ali Agha (17 off 13) and Faheem Ashraf (20 off 8) added 42 runs in the last three overs to help Pakistan reach a competitive 171-5.
Sharma announced his intentions by hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six on the first ball, and hit four boundaries and four sixes to complete his half-century in 24 balls.
India seemed to be cruising to a quick victory until Gill (47 off 28) was bowled by Faheem Ashraf in the 10th over.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav fell to Haris Rauf (2-26) for a duck in the very next over, and Sharma (74 off 39) was dismissed by Abrar Ahmed soon after, temporarily throttling India’s chase.
But India, who beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the group stage, still got over the line, with Tilak Varma (30 off 19) hitting Afridi for a six and a four in the final two balls of the innings.
Pakistan will face Sri Lanka on Tuesday, with both sides looking for their first win in the Super Four, a day before India play Bangladesh, who beat Sri Lanka on Saturday.
The Super Fours stage of the Asia Cup opens with Bangladesh beating Sri Lanka by four wickets in Dubai.
Published On 20 Sep 202520 Sep 2025
Share
Attacking half-centuries from Saif Hassan and Towhid Hridoy helped Bangladesh stun Sri Lanka by four wickets in the opening Super Four match at the Asia Cup.
Hassan scored 61 runs off 45 balls, with two fours and four sixes, and Hridoy hit 58 off 37 with two sixes, as Bangladesh won with a ball to spare after a dramatic final over on Saturday.
list of 3 itemsend of list
With five runs needed off the last six balls, Jaker Ali hit Dasun Shanaka for a first-ball four, and then was bowled. Shanaka then sent back Mahedi Hasan for a two-ball duck.
On the penultimate delivery, Nasum Ahmed and Shamim Hossain, 14 not out off 12, ran hard to end Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run.
Bangladesh finished with 169-6 for its third-highest successful chase in Twenty20s.
Earlier, Shanaka’s 64 not out off 37 balls helped power Sri Lanka to 168-7.
India and Pakistan face off in the next Super Four game on Sunday — their second clash in the tournament after the controversial no-handshakes group match.
Despite a quick opening stand between Pathum Nissanka (22) and Kusal Mendis (34), Sri Lanka was reduced to 65-3 in 9.1 overs after Mahedi Hasan struck twice.
Shanaka then took charge and scored 50 off 30 balls, including two fours and five sixes. He hit six sixes in all, and put up 57 off 27 balls with Charith Asalanka for the fifth wicket.
In the 19th over, Asalanka was dropped and then run out off the same delivery in his 21 off 12 balls. Shanaka, also dropped, stayed unbeaten till the end.
Vital momentum was lost in the over by the run out and Mustafizur Rahman two wickets.
Tanzid Hasan was bowled for a two-ball duck, but it did not deter his partner, who counterattacked Sri Lanka. Bangladesh skipper Litton Das (23) shared 59 off 34 balls for the second wicket.
Bangladesh was 59-1 in the powerplay with Saif Hassan leading. He reached 50 off 36 balls.
Hassan and Hridoy combined for 54 as Bangladesh’s chase gained momentum.
Hridoy guided the chase towards the finish line with 50 off 31 balls. He was trapped in the 19th over by Dushmantha Chameera, but Shamin Hossain helped to finish off the game despite the final over drama.
It was Bangladesh’s first successful 160-plus chase in 16 attempts — the previous instance was in March 2024, also against Sri Lanka.
India and Pakistan are keen to avoid controversy ahead of their crucial Super Fours fixture at the Asia Cup 2025, as the political fallout of their previous match continues to overshadow the cricket tournament in Dubai.
Pakistan cancelled their pre-match news conference one hour before its scheduled time on Saturday, while India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav evaded questions on the “no handshake” row when he spoke to the media after his team’s win over Oman on Friday.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Sunday’s match between the South Asian archrivals will be their second meeting in eight days, with the winner taking a step closer to the tournament’s final on September 28.
While the political statements and off-field actions following the September 14 clash continue to impact preparations for the upcoming Super Fours match, both camps have taken steps to avoid further repercussions and protect the players from controversy.
When Yadav was asked to comment on the handshake row after his team’s last group-stage fixture on Friday evening, he responded by saying: “It [the match] will be a good contest between the ball and the bat.”
He went on to add that he’s asked his players to “shut the noise” ahead of the match against Pakistan.
“Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep,” the India captain said.
“It’s easy to say, but sometimes it is difficult.”
Having made pointedly political statements after his team’s win over Pakistan on Sunday, the 35-year-old chose to steer clear of similar comments a day before their second match.
“We stand with all the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and with their families, and dedicate this win to our brave armed forces who took part in Operation Sindoor,” the 35-year-old said when asked if his team’s decision to not shake hands with Pakistani players was against the spirit of cricket.
Yadav was referring to the Indian armed forces’ multiple missile attacks on six locations inside Pakistan.
India said the missiles were in response to the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in Pahalgam, in which 26 men were killed. An armed group called The Resistance Front (TRF), which demands independence for Kashmir, claimed responsibility for the attack, but India had alleged Pakistani involvement.
Pakistan denied any role in the attacks and asked for an independent investigation to be carried out.
Two days later, Pakistan responded to the missile strikes by attacking military installations across its frontier with India and Indian-administered Kashmir, striking at least four facilities.
The conflict ended four days later, thanks to an internationally-brokered ceasefire.
While the exchange of aerial fire came to a halt, the diplomatic ties between the neighbours remained suspended, and the political tension spilled over into cricket as India’s players walked off the field without shaking hands with their opposition.
A few moments later, Pakistan’s players trudged off in a group and waited for the Indian squad and support staff to come out and shake hands, as is the norm at the end of cricket matches.
However, the Indian contingent only shook hands with each other before walking into their dressing room and shutting the door as the waiting Pakistan players looked on.
Shortly after the events unfolded, Pakistan’s manager Naveed Akram Cheema lodged a protest against the Indian cricket team’s actions with Andy Pycroft, who is an International Cricket Council (ICC) accredited match referee.
Pakistan alleged that Pycroft did not clearly communicate the Indian team’s decision to not partake in the handshake, an act they termed in contravention of the spirit of cricket.
Pakistan demanded Pycroft’s removal as match referee for their remaining fixtures in the tournament, but later reached an agreement with the ICC and Pycroft went on to officiate Pakistan’s last group game against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday.
The Pakistan-UAE match was delayed by an hour as officials from the ICC and Pakistan’s team management held a meeting at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium before the match.
“The ICC’s match referee, Andy Pycroft, has apologised to the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
“Andy Pycroft termed the September 14 incident a result of miscommunication.”
The PCB also said that the ICC “expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation that occurred during the September 14 match”, referring to Pycroft’s request to Pakistan and India captains to avoid the customary handshake at the toss, which the PCB alleges contravened the laws of the game.
However, a source within the ICC told Al Jazeera that Pycroft did not apologise to Pakistan and only clarified his position.
The source also said that the ICC had investigated the issue and concluded that it did not warrant action against the Zimbabwean match referee.
The Zimbabwean match official will be in charge of Sunday’s India-Pakistan fixture as well.