India vs Pakistan, Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

Salman Agha: Definitely happy to bat first. We are very excited and looking forward to this game. We haven't played a perfect game and hopefully we play one today. Same side.

Suryakumar Yadav: We will bowl first. It looks a good wicket. The wicket gets better under lights. We have been batting well first but we would like to chase today. The groundsmen have done a terrific job with the wickets here. The brand of cricket we have been playing for the last 5-6 games is pretty good. Unfortunately Hardik misses out.

India have won the toss and have opted to field

It is almost toss time. The two sets of players are still warming up on the side pitches. The ground looks half full already. The two captains are in the middle. Ravi Shastri is with them along with Sir Richie Richardson

Varun Chakaravarathy's cricketing journey has been nothing short of sensational. Here's Pratyush with a beautiful piece on the mystery spinner's second coming. It's a must-read this one.

More from Pratyush: The troika of Rinku, Jitesh and Harshit is back. They are headbutting the football around. The usual now. Morkel helping Bumrah mark his run-up.

Pratyush has spotted Hardik on the field to huge cheers. But he adds: No warm-ups for Hardik. He's just hanging around in what look like his non-bowling shoes.

More snippets from Pratyush: Abhishek Sharma having a look at the pitch, bat in tow under his arm. He looks good to go. Can't spot Hardik! Rinku also having some catching practice today.

Abhishek Sharma has been in great nick this tournament and he will be a key man for India up top. Here's Pratyush decoding his bat swing in this fine piece.

Pratyush has spotted something significant: Okay, so for the captains pic with the trophy, Suryakumar Yadav didn't turn up, so Salman Agha posed alone.

Pratyush is on player watch now: Rinku Singh is the first Indian player on the ground. But unlike other days, he's not warming up with jogs along with other potential non-playing members of the squad. He walks out of the dressing room with a bat in hand, bows before he crosses the ad cushions on the boundary, has a look at the pitch and then takes a few throwdowns in the outfield. Not his usual warm-up routine. Whatever that means.

Pratyush adds: The match will be played on the same centre pitch that was used for the last two India-Pakistan fixtures. It's a pretty hot day again, so they left the covers on until about two hours to toss time. Since then, the twice-used pitch in this tournament has seen plenty of rolling. Expect it to play well again for the first 10 overs or so. Varun Chakaravarthy had mentioned how it slows down significantly in the second innings.

Now on to updates from our man - Pratyush Sinha from the venue, who has been doing a stellar job as always: Longer queues outside the gates than I have seen all Asia Cup, so expect the tournament's biggest crowd today. The press box is packed and buzzing too, and there's a line if you want to get coffee, so that should tell you everything you need to know.

One stat which should give Pakistan hope is this: India and Pakistan have faced off in 12 finals across formats, with Pakistan leading 8-4, the last of which was their 180-run win at the Champions Trophy 2017 final.

How times have changed from the late 80s and the 90s. Back then a generation was forever scarred by Javed Miandad's last ball six off Chetan Sharma at Sharjah. Pakistan used to dominate India and any win for the latter seemed like an upset. True - Pakistan had a fine team back then and India just couldn't manage to break the mental barrier they had. Fast forward to current times and it's just the opposite. It's India who are the dominant force with a fantastic team while Pakistan search for answers. The recent head-to-head has been heavily stacked in favor of India and that's why they go into this final as firm favorites.

But rule Pakistan out at your own peril. They are mercurially unpredictable and on their day can win against any team. They thrive in chaos and disorder. Pakistan lose when you make them favorites and win out of nowhere when you write them off. Famously in the 1992 ODI World Cup, Imran Khan asked his players to fight like cornered tigers and you know what happened next. In a one-off final like this - especially in the T20 format - a moment of magic can win you the game. Pakistan will be hoping for just that.

How has Pakistan done so far? Well.... Pakistan has been Pakistan. Nasser Hussain in the 2017 Champions Trophy final on air encapsulated it brilliantly: "Pakistan cricket at its best: one minute down, next minute up." This after Kohli was dropped the previous ball and then caught the next. Pakistan managed to reach the final after a close win against Bangladesh in a virtual semi-final but have failed to impress against India in both games. 

How has India done so far? India have been the side to beat in this competition. They are head and shoulders above the other sides on show here. They have beaten Pakistan twice and both times easily. The only game they were tested was against Sri Lanka in a dead rubber and even that they won via the Super Over route. Abhishek Sharma at the top has been in scintillating form and has three fifties in 6 innings. Kuldeep has spun a web around the batters and India welcome back Bumrah for this one after resting him for the last one. India look a well-oiled machine and would need a special performance from Pakistan if they are to be beaten today.

Chuck whatever you are doing, shut the door, close the curtains and tune into this one from wherever you may be. Hello and welcome to the final of the Asia Cup and we at Cricbuzz are all ready. Are you? Grab a cold/hot one of your choice, something to eat and get ready to join us on this fun ride. It's going to be exciting hopefully and let's hope for a great game of cricket.