The two teams will be playing for the third time in the tournament, having met in a group-stage and Super Fours match before. India emerged victorious on both occasions. Abhishek Sharma has been the defending champions’ trump card so far, scoring 309 runs at 51.50 and a strike-rate of 204.63. For the first time, India and Pakistan will play in an Asia Cup final.
India have clearly dominated Pakistan in T20Is, winning 11 out of 15 matches. The only tie was in their inaugural meeting at the 2007 T20 World Cup, which India won in a bowl-out. However, the balance tends to shift in Pakistan’s favour when it comes to meeting each other in finals across formats: they have won eight out of twelve times, with their last one coming in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Latest ICC men's T20I team rankings before IND vs PAK Asia Cup final
India consolidated their position at the top with six wins on the trot in the Asia Cup. They are the only side to remain unbeaten in the competition.
Since winning the T20 World Cup in June last year, India have won the most matches (21) among Full Members. Their win-loss ratio is seven in this period – the joint-most among Full Members alongside Australia.
Pakistan, meanwhile, have won the second-most matches (17) but their win-loss ratio of 1.062 isn’t as impressive as India’s. That reflects in their position (seventh) on the points table.
| Rank | Team | Matches | Rating |
| 1 | India | 63 | 272 |
| 2 | Australia | 37 | 266 |
| 3 | England | 44 | 257 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 46 | 253 |
| 5 | South Africa | 45 | 243 |
| 6 | West Indies | 51 | 238 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 64 | 233 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 43 | 230 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 58 | 222 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 38 | 221 |
| 11 | Ireland | 34 | 201 |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 55 | 200 |