Palestine emerged victorious against defending champions Pakistan in the final to clinch the West Asia Baseball Cup. It was their first major international title in baseball.
After a thriller inning, the match ended 5-4 in favor of Palestine following a 4-4 deadlock in the regulation nine innings.
Making a commendable start, World No. 46 Palestine took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and extended it to 4-0 with three more runs in the third.
The early pressure put Pakistan (World No. 38) on the back foot, but that did not deter them from making comeback attempts. They scored one run in the fourth inning and added another in the top of the fifth to narrow the gap to 4-2. However, Palestine pushed back with a run in the bottom half to maintain their lead.
Pakistan mounted a spirited comeback in the ninth inning, scoring twice to level the game at 4-4 and force an extra inning.
Despite the momentum, Pakistan failed to capitalise in the extra frame, while Palestine managed a crucial run to seal a historic win and lift the West Asian title.
Notably, Pakistan had a strong run leading up to the final, topping Group B remaining unbeaten.
They began their West Asia Baseball Cup campaign with a 10-6 win over Bangladesh, followed by a colossal 14-0 victory against hosts Iran. In the semifinals, Pakistan overwhelmed arch-rivals India with a commanding 14-1 triumph.
After the results, Palestine and Pakistan will participate in the BFA XXXI Asian Baseball Championship, a WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup qualifier.
West Asia Baseball Cup: Final Standings
- Palestine
- Pakistan
- Iran
- India
- Sri Lanka
- Bangladesh
- Afghanistan
Palestine joins Pakistan and Sri Lanka to become the only winners of the West Asia Baseball Cup.
Earlier, in the third-place playoff, host nation Iran defeated India.
The Asian Baseball Cup was launched by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) launched in 1995 in Manila, Philippines, as a qualifier for the Asian Baseball Championship. The tournament was split into the West Asia and East Asia Baseball Cups in 2012.
Before the 2025 edition, Pakistan (2012, 2013, 2015 and 2023) and Sri Lanka (2017 and 2019) were the only West Asia Baseball Cup winners and competed in the final in four previous editions. Iran lost the final against Pakistan in 2015. Iran also earned three bronze medals in 2012, 2015, and 2017. The other third-place finishers are Afghanistan (2013) and India (2015 and 2019).
