Pakistan opener Saim Ayub departed for a golden duck in the marquee clash against India in the ongoing Asia Cup. Hardik Pandya got the better of him in the first over of the game. Pakistan soon lost the wicket of Mohammad Haris itself.
Pakistan opener Saim Ayub registered a golden duck in the high-voltage clash against India in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. With that, the 23-year-old scored back-to-back golden ducks to kickoff the Asia Cup campaign. In Pakistanโs opening game against Oman, Ayub failed to open his tally as well, and another duck against India will only put more pressure on the Men in Green.
Notably, Hardik Pandya bowled a wide to start the proceedings in Dubai. In the next match itself, Ayub attempted to cut the ball, but it went straight to Jasprit Bumrah, who was stationed at point. With that, the celebration broke out in the Indian team as Ayub can prove to be a dangerous custodian in the shortest format.
Meanwhile, in the very next over, Mohammad Haris was sent packing. He tried to slog Bumrah for a boundary, but failed to time it as Pandya picked up a terrific catch to end his stay in the middle. After their dismissals, Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan tried to rescue Pakistan, but they were put under immense pressure.
On the other hand, following Ayubโs failure, there will be discussions regarding bringing back Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam in the playing XI. They were omitted due to a poor strike rate. However, with Ayubโs constant failure in marquee matches, the selectors and the team management may once again consider the duo of Babar and Rizwan for T20Is.
India, in the meantime, will be hoping to restrict Pakistan early after two quick wickets and earn two more points.
Playing XI of Pakistan and India:
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy