Asia Cup 2025 final: Hardik Pandya two wickets away from joining elite club

Dubai [UAE], September 28 (ANI): India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya stands on the verge of scripting history in the final of the ongoing Asia Cup against Pakistan.

Pandya is just two scalps away from completing 100 T20 international wickets. By achieving this feat, Pandya will become only the second Indian bowler to grab 100 wickets in T20Is.

Currently, he has 98 wickets, behind star pacer Arshdeep Singh with 101 scalps to his name. Pandya took 120 fixtures for grabbing 98 wickets at an average of 26.58 and an economy of 8.22 with best figures of 4/16.

In the ongoing T20 Asia Cup, Pandya has picked four wickets in six fixtures at an average of 30.00 and an economy of 8.57 with best figures of 1/7.

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan is the top wicket-taker in T20Is with 173 scalps in 103 matches at an average of 13.93, with best figures of 5/3, with eight four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls.

Coming to the final, India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final, scheduled to take place at the Dubai International Stadium on September 28.

This will be the first-ever Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan in the tournament's 41-year history, adding an extra layer of excitement to the clash. India has defeated Pakistan twice in this year's Asia Cup.

India dominated Pakistan in the group stage match, cruising to a seven-wicket victory, thanks to Kuldeep Yadav's match-winning spell of 3/18. In the Super 4s showdown, Abhishek Sharma's explosive 74 off 39 balls dismantled Pakistan's bowling attack, paving the way for a convincing six-wicket win for India.

Squads:

India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube

Pakistan Squad: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Hasan Nawaz, Sufiyan Muqeem. (ANI)

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