The Asia Cup started in UAE yesterday and the most important game of the tournament between Pakistan and India is being played in Dubai tonight.

This time the Asia Cup is being played under the T20 format. All the previous tournaments were played under the ODI format. The tournament will provide a good opportunity to the participating teams to prepare for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.

In the previous 14 editions, India have been successful seven times, Sri Lanka five times and Pakistan twice.

The last Asia Cup - in 2018 - was also held in the UAE. Rohit Sharma-led India beat Bangladesh in the final to lift the trophy.

India and Pakistan met for the first time in the Asia Cup in the first edition of the tournament in the UAE in 1984. India won the match by 54 runs. Pakistan were bowled out on 134 while chasing an easy target of 189.

Since then Pakistan and India have played 14 matches against each other in the Asia Cup ODIs. India have won eight times and Pakistan five times.

India also hold a dominant head-to-head record against Pakistan in T20I format as they have won six of the nine matches that they have played so far. Pakistan remained victorious on two occasions. One match ended without a result.

The last time these two sides met in the T20I format, Pakistan thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Dubai International Stadium during the ICC T20 World Cup group encounter in 2021.

Today it's time for the men in green to leave the previous match result behind. The top order must play their natural game and provide a solid foundation for the middle order to post a massive total.

Skipper Babar Azam will be the centre of attention. He again proved his skills in the recently concluded ODI series against Netherlands by scoring 222 runs, averaging 74. He scored fifties in all 3 matches.

Currently, Babar is among the top three batsmen of the ICC Test, ODI and T20 formats ranking. In T20Is and ODIs he is in the top position while in the Test format he is third.

In the absence of senior players like Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan middle order looks quite inexperienced. If Babar, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman failed, it would be very difficult for the young players to handle the pressure, especially against India.

If Pakistan win the first game against India, it will be a booster for the Green-shirts for the next matches, particularly if the two sides meet in the final on September 11.

Before the Asia Cup, Pakistan received a setback as ace fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup as well as the seven-match T20I series at home against England in September because of a knee injury.

Afridi sustained the right knee ligament injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month.

Shaheen's injury was expected, as he is playing all three formats on a regular basis. The management didn't give him rest through a rotation policy and didn't share Afridi's workload with other fast bowlers.

Shaheen was one of the heroes of Pakistan's famous 10-wicket victory against India in T20 World Cup 2021. He rattled India's top-order to set the tone for Pakistan to win their first-ever World Cup contest against India. The left-arm pacer is expected to return to competitive cricket in October with the New Zealand T20I tri-series, which will be followed by the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Australia 2022.

Shaheen is considered one of the toughest bowlers to face in the beginning overs. He enjoys taking wickets of top-order to dent the opposition early on. His absence could badly damage Pakistan's tournament hopes in the Asia Cup, especially in the match tonight.

In the absence of Shaheen, eyes are set on young pacer Naseem Shah, who claimed 10 wickets, averaging just 11.10, in a 3-match ODI series against the Netherlands.

Pakistan have won 28 of the 49 matches that they have played in the Asia cup so far. They have lost 20 matches while one match ended with no result. They currently have a win percentage of 57.14 in the Asia Cup.

On the other hand, India have won 36 of the 54 matches in their Asia Cup history. They lost 16 games, while one match was tied and another ended with no result. India have a win percentage of 66.67 in the Asia Cup.

Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has scored most T20 (311) runs in seven matches against Pakistan so far. He averages 77.75, with a strike rate of 118.25. He has scored three fifties.

For Pakistan, Shoaib Malik is the most successful batter against India in the shortest format with 164 runs in eight innings, averaging 27.33, including one fifty.

India's 192-5 at Ahmedabad in 2012 is the highest team score between the two teams in T20Is. India also scored the lowest team (83) total in the shortest format against Pakistan during the Asia Cup in 2016.

Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan's unbeaten 79 against India during the Super 12 match of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 is the highest individual score by any batter in Indo-Pak contests so far. Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif picked up 4-18 against India in the 2007 T20 World Cup at Durban - still the best bowling performance between the two teams in the T20I format.

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