India, Sept. 23 -- Pakistan's rivalry with India has rarely required additional context to acquire significance, but the balance between the two sides in white-ball cricket has increasingly become difficult to ignore. India have established a sustained advantage in recent meetings, while Pakistan continue to search for the consistency required to turn occasional resistance into something more enduring.

That gap will form part of the backdrop to the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, where another India-Pakistan encounter remains possible but far from guaranteed. The two teams can only meet in the final, meaning both must first negotiate their respective routes through the competition before the rivalry can once again become the centre of attenti...