2025 Asia Cup Schedule: Fixtures, Time Table & Dates

Few sporting rivalries still carry the weight that India vs Pakistan brings to the cricket world. When the 2025 Men’s Asia Cup landed in the United Arab Emirates this September, it brought together eight teams across a compressed T20I schedule that tested squads, venues, and fans alike. The tournament — the 17th edition of the Asia Cup — ran from September 9 to 28, 2025, with most matches shifted to an 8 PM IST start time that suited evening prime time viewing across the subcontinent.

Dates: September 9-28, 2025 · Format: T20I · Host Nation: United Arab Emirates · Key Venues: Abu Dhabi, Dubai · Defending Champions: India

Six verified facts anchor this schedule overview, sourced from Wikipedia, ESPNcricinfo, and Sporting News across tier 1 and tier 2 authorities.

2025 Asia Cup Schedule Time Table

The schedule unfolded across two weeks of back-to-back evening matches, with most start times set for 8 PM IST (6:30 PM GST). The Emirates Cricket Board announced a timing shift from the originally planned 7:30 PM start for 18 of 19 matches, pushing most fixtures into prime evening viewing windows across South Asia.

Group Stage Fixtures

The group stage featured 12 matches spread from September 9 to 19, with teams playing single round-robin format within their groups. Top two finishers from each group advanced to the Super Fours stage.

• September 9: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong — Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
• September 10: India vs UAE — Dubai International Cricket Stadium
• September 13: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh — Abu Dhabi at 8 PM IST
• September 14: India vs Pakistan — Dubai (key rivalry match)
• September 15: UAE vs Oman — Zayed Cricket Stadium (5:30 PM IST day game)
• September 19: India vs Oman

Super Fours and Final

The Super Fours ran from September 20-26, with the format seeing Group A and B qualifiers face off in a round-robin mini-league. The September 26 match between India and Sri Lanka ended at 202/5 each at Dubai — a tightly contested encounter that illustrated the competitive balance at this stage.

• September 20: B1 vs B2
• September 26: India vs Sri Lanka at Dubai (202/5 each)
• September 28: Final — Dubai International Stadium, 8 PM IST (reserve day: September 29)

The pattern across 19 total matches reveals a tournament designed for compressed, high-stakes cricket — each group stage result carried direct qualification consequences, and the Super Fours format meant every match could shift the final standings.

Asia Cup 2025 Points Table

The points system followed standard T20I conventions: two points for a win, one for a tie/no result, zero for a loss. Net run rate calculations served as the first tiebreaker when teams finished level on points.

Group A Standings

• India: Advanced to Super Four after defeating UAE and Oman
• Pakistan: Contested India in group stage, advanced alongside India
• UAE: Host nation, played opener against India on September 10
• Oman: Eliminated after India qualified for Super Four

Group B Standings

• Afghanistan: Opened with September 9 win over Hong Kong (188/6 vs 94/9)
• Sri Lanka: First match vs Bangladesh on September 13
• Bangladesh: Competed in Group B alongside Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong
• Hong Kong: Opening fixture against Afghanistan, did not advance

What this means: the group stage operated as a brutal qualifier — one loss could end title ambitions before the Super Fours began. India and Pakistan both advanced from Group A, while Afghanistan and Sri Lanka emerged from Group B as the teams to watch entering the knockout phase.

Asia Cup 2025 Today Match

For fans following day-to-day, match timings and venue details mattered as much as results. The September 15 day match between UAE and Oman broke the otherwise consistent evening pattern — starting at 5:30 PM IST (4:00 PM GST) at Zayed Cricket Stadium, it was the only daytime fixture of the tournament.

Live Score Updates

ESPNcricinfo maintained live score feeds for all matches throughout the tournament, with scores updating in near real-time for the Afghanistan vs Hong Kong opener, the India vs UAE clash, and the Super Fours encounters including the tightly balanced India vs Sri Lanka match.

Match Preview

Team news evolved across the group stage as captains managed player workloads in the T20I format. India began their campaign, facing UAE first before the high-profile September 14 match against Pakistan at Dubai. The Pakistan fixture drew particular attention given the geopolitical tensions that had influenced the tournament’s host relocation.

The catch: without complete official score archives accessible in real-time, daily match highlights required cross-referencing between ESPNcricinfo and Sporting News to confirm results and venue assignments for every fixture.

Asia Cup 2025 Date

The tournament ran from September 9 to 28, 2025 — a 20-day window that compressed the group stage into the first 11 days before the Super Fours and final closed out the event.

Tournament Timeline

• September 2025: Dates first released publicly
• September 2025: ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced hosting shift to UAE during annual meeting in Dhaka
• September 9, 2025: First ball — Afghanistan vs Hong Kong at Abu Dhabi
• September 28, 2025: Final at Dubai International Stadium, 8 PM IST
• September 29, 2025: Reserve day for final

Key Dates

Three dates dominated the narrative: the opening match on September 9, the India vs Pakistan fixture on September 14, and the final on September 28. The host relocation — originally planned for India but shifted to UAE in July 2025 due to the political crisis and military conflict between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack — meant teams had limited time to adapt to neutral venue conditions.

The implication: the compressed timeline and host change added pressure on team management, particularly for squads unfamiliar with UAE pitch conditions. The tournament’s role as preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup made every match a data point for selectors and coaches.

2025 Asia Cup Schedule Cricbuzz

Cricbuzz and ESPNcricinfo served as the primary digital homes for match schedules and live scores. Both platforms maintained fixture lists that were updated as the schedule evolved, particularly after the hosting shift announcement in July 2025.

Official Fixtures List

The official fixtures list confirmed match dates, times, and venue assignments for all group stage and Super Fours matches. Sporting News published a comprehensive overview listing all eight teams, group assignments, and the full tentative schedule, while Sportzpoint tracked the detailed timing changes announced by the Emirates Cricket Board.

Live Scores Link

ESPNcricinfo maintained the most comprehensive live score coverage, with match pages for the Afghanistan vs Hong Kong opener showing AFG’s 188/6 versus Hong Kong’s 94/9, the India vs UAE result, and the Super Fours India vs Sri Lanka clash (both finishing at 202/5). Wikipedia provided the tournament overview with confirmed dates, format, and edition details.

Timeline

The timeline shows how quickly the tournament came together after the hosting change, with teams given less than two months’ notice to adjust travel and training plans.

Clarity on Confirmed Facts vs Rumors

Expert Perspectives

The start time for 18 out of the 19 DP World Asia Cup 2025 matches has been updated. These matches will now begin at 6:30pm local time (Gulf Standard Time).

— Emirates Cricket Board (Official Board statement on timing changes)

ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced that the tournament would instead be held in the United Arab Emirates.

— Mohsin Naqvi, ACC Chairman (announcement during annual meeting in Dhaka, July 2025)

The tournament was originally planned for India but shifted to UAE in July 2025 due to political crisis and military conflict between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack.

— Asia Cup 2025 tournament background from Wikipedia

These statements illustrate how external political events reshaped the tournament’s logistics, forcing broadcasters and teams to adapt within weeks of the announcement.

Related reading: India vs South Africa T20 results · Zimbabwe vs South Africa live scores

The 2025 Asia Cup’s Super 4 stage delivers thrilling points table battles, with full fixtures and results available in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 schedule.

Frequently asked questions