Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya stood tall by giving India their first breakthrough in the very first ball of the Asia Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International cricket stadium on September 14. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. However, India got off to a dream start, with Hardik Pandya making history by taking a wicket with the very first legal ball of the match.
Hardik Pandya bags historic milestone against Pakistan
Pandya dismissed Saim Ayub to script history as he it marked the first time an Indian player has taken a wicket on the first ball of a T20I match against Pakistan. It made him the second Indian bowler overall to accomplish this, following Arshdeep Singh, who did it against the USA in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Pandya has now become the third bowler in T20I history to take a wicket on the first ball of a match against Pakistan. He joins an exclusive list that includes Nuwan Kulasekara, who first accomplished the feat for Sri Lanka in 2009, and George Linde, who did so for South Africa in 2021. With 91 runs and 13 wickets, Hardik Pandya is already India’s highest wicket-taker against Pakistan in T20Is. He is on the verge of making history in this crucial Asia Cup 2025 match. If he scores just nine more runs, he will become the first player ever to achieve the remarkable double of scoring 100 runs and taking 10 or more wickets for India against their arch-rivals in this format.
Talking about the match, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar patel spun a web around Pakistan batters and bundled them out for a paltry 127/9 in their stipulated 20 overs. While Kuldeep dazzled with 3/18, Axar shone bright with 2/18. Sahibzada Farhan (40) was the top scorer for Pakistan. In the end Shaheen Afridi also chipped in with a blistering 16-ball 33.
India's Playing XI:
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pakistan's Playing XI:
Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed