 "There are still many empty seats at Dubai Stadium for India vs Pakistan match. Image: SonyLiv")
The India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 clash at Dubai International Stadium saw unusually empty stands on Sunday, September 14. Fans, especially from India, stayed away amid boycott calls following the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year. The political tensions seem to have affected the attendance for this high-voltage clash.
Some fans on social media are calling this a win for the Indian people. But the match is still going on as planned, which shows how much this rivalry matters to the cricket boards of both countries and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). It looks like the boards and the broadcaster have won this battle against the boycott calls for now.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIndia on top of Pakistan after being asked to bowl first
On the field, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first against the Suryakumar Yadav-led side. India struck early with Hardik Pandya dismissing opener Saim Ayub for a duck in the very first over. Jasprit Bumrah followed with another breakthrough, sending Mohammad Haris back after just 3 runs off 5 balls.
Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan forged a brief partnership before India struck again. Zaman was dismissed by Axar Patel for 17 off 15 balls. Pakistan captain Salman Agha also fell cheaply to Axar for 3, leaving his team in deep trouble. Kuldeep Yadav then picked up two back-to-back wickets, dismissing Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Nawaz in consecutive balls.
Farhan is the only batter holding the innings together, unbeaten on 32 off 36 balls at the time of writing this story.