...at tonight's Asia Cup 2025 final.
India vs Pakistan Final, Asia Cup 2025: Rivals Clash For T20 Supremacy |
After two lopsided meetings, India and Pakistan collide once more — this time for the Asia Cup trophy. Can Sunday's final deliver real fireworks? Karan Pradhan previews.
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ELEVEN RUNS. Two big hits, in other words. That’s all that stood between Bangladesh and a chance to spare the world a third edition of the low-quality cricket coupled with intemperate, unsportsmanlike posturing and needless jingoism that has been the hallmark of India-Pakistan matches in this T20 Asia Cup. Alas, the Jaker Ali-led (in skipper Litton Das’ absence) Tigers fell short. Regardless of the politics and whether or not you believe India should have participated in the tournament, it’s been a poor spectacle all round. That the Suryakumar Yadav-led side has been head and shoulders above the competition speaks less of his own team’s brilliance than the dross offered up by the other teams. To their credit and despite the gulf in talent/experience between the Associate Nations and their Test-playing counterparts, Oman and the UAE at least seemed to put up a fight. Pakistan only seemed to make the finals by virtue of being the least worst of the teams not playing in blue Adidas kits. Stream the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 Final live on OTTplay! But, that’s our lot and here we are. After 18 matches featuring eight different teams, we’ve entered the endgame of a multilateral tournament for being the first in history to see two teams face each other in three separate phases — group stage, Super 4s and now, the final. |
ACT I Suryakumar and opposing number Salman Agha faced each other for the first time in the series back on September 14. Even some Shaheen Shah Afridi fireworks at the end couldn’t drag Pakistan beyond a below-par total of 127/9. Sahibzada Farhan’s leisurely 40 (off 44 balls) apart, no other batter really showed much desire to get stuck in. In reply, a customary white-hot start by Abhishek Sharma laid the platform for a couple of solid knocks from the skipper and Tilak Varma. Abrar Ahmed’s economical four overs in which he only conceded 16 runs stood out like a beacon of hope amidst the carnage endured by the other bowlers who ended up conceding 10 runs an over on average. On a day of slim pickings, Pakistan would have to take Saim Ayub’s three-wicket haul as a small consolation prize. With Oman and UAE making up the other teams in Group A, the match was as consequential as it was competitive . Given the structure of the tournament, the top two sides would proceed to the next round, and it was always going to be a stretch for the pair of Associates to challenge India and Pakistan’s advancement. |
ACT II A week later, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium once again played host to a match between the subcontinental neighbours. The stakes were higher this time with the winner greatly boosting their chances of making the final. For the loser — particularly in light of Bangladesh’s win over Sri Lanka, a tricky equation of points and NRR would likely await. After all, there seemed little chance the Islanders would stay winless. Having been put in to bat, Pakistan would’ve felt they’d really turned a corner in this tournament at 21/0 off 2.2 overs. In the first meeting between the two sides, Salman Agha’s team had been reduced to 6/2 in 1.2 overs. Despite the loss of Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan marched on to 93/1 just after the halfway mark, and a huge target looked to be on the cards. However, losing key wickets regularly meant no significant partnerships could be established and the innings wrapped up at 171/5. This was by no means a small target, but insurmountable? Certainly not. And while Sharma and Shubman Gill were going, the target seemed to be shrinking with every passing over. The duo was finally separated with the total on 105 in the 10th over. Despite losing Suryakumar for a duck and Sanju Samson for a mere 13, India never looked uncomfortable and cruised to victory in the 19th over. |
ACT III Apart from a nervy finish in the final match of the Super 4s , India have never looked like losing control of a match in the Asia Cup so far. Although it gave them a mighty scare, winning Friday’s match by the skin of their teeth will have filled Suryakumar and Co with a big old dose of confidence. And they’ll be looking to finish the tournament with their unbeaten streak intact. For Pakistan, the 11-run win against Bangladesh was what it took to bring out the best from talismanic speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi (3/17 off four overs). It’s hard to say how that win will affect the outcome of the final, but it will have filled the Men in Green with a great deal of self-belief — and may even encourage them to bring their A-game to the final. For the sake of the cricket-watching public, we’ll have to hope so, because the last thing the rivalry, the Asia Cup or even the sport of cricket needs is another dull and one-sided India-Pakistan match. Karan Pradhan is editor-in-chief of Story Mode, a gaming and gaming-adjacent magazine. He tweets @karanpradhan_ |
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