Last Updated on 4 weeks by Charbel Coorey
Pakistan will meet India in an Asia Cup final for the first time in the tournament’s history. After a tight win against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Pakistan held their nerve again on Thursday, rallying to defend 135 against Bangladesh in Dubai.
At one stage, Pakistan were reeling at 33/4 in the ninth over and 49/5 in the 11th. Shaheen Shah Afridi’s cameo, plus important contributions by Mohammad Haris (31 off 23) and Mohammad Nawaz (25 off 15) helped Agha Salman’s team reach a defendable score.
Bangladesh were still favourites on a ground that favours chasing. Also, Pakistan’s 135/8 was still below the average first innings score in Dubai in this Asia Cup, even if you include UAE’s 57 against India. However, Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way to dismantle the Bangladeshi top order, before Haris Rauf (3/33), Mohammad Nawaz (1/14) and Saim Ayub (2/16) never allowed Jaker Ali’s team off the hook.
Pakistan fans hopeful of winning the Asia Cup 2025 Final against India at Dubai
The victory has given Pakistan fans hope they can win the 2025 Asia Cup Final against India on Sunday. Despite India winning all their matches to date, their reliance on Abhishek Sharma is cause for optimism for Pakistan. The opener is striking at 206.66 in this Asia Cup. Shubman Gill is next-best with 156.33. The third-best? 128.57 by Axar Patel.
Also, Pakistan fans have called for their team to put in a big effort after Suryakumar Yadav’s comments following their Super Four match last Sunday. “I would like to say one thing on this question. I feel that you should stop asking this question on the rivalry,” the India captain said in the post-match press conference, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“Standards and rivalry are the same. According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches and if [head-to-head] it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry. But 13-0, 10-1….I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore. But yeah, I feel we played better cricket than them,” Suryakumar continued.
“If law of average is real it should work against Indian team and Abhishek Sharma on Sunday, and Qudrat ka nizam [law of nature] needs to come clutch,” one fan wrote on X.
“This Asia Cup has “CT17” written all over it. “Not a rivalry” comment will haunt them. This team still has 99 problems, but owning India on the big day won’t be one of them,” wrote another.
However, despite their victories, Pakistan will have to step up their game to beat India. The batting does not inspire much confidence. Saim Ayub has four ducks in this tournament, while the strike rates of Fakhar Zaman (117.39), Sahibzada Farhan (107.38) and Agha Salman (78.04) represent huge room for improvement.
The form of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf is cause for optimism, with early wickets paramount against India. The likes of Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and Saim Ayub will then look to put the brakes on an Indian middle order that is searching for its best form.
Pakistan last won the Asia Cup in 2012, played in the ODI format. They reached the final of the last T20I edition in 2022, but ultimately fell short against Sri Lanka in Dubai. Time will tell whether they can go one better in 2025.
