Pakistan booked their spot in the Asia Cup 2025 final and will face India in the summit clash of the continental tournament for the first time on September 28, Sunday, in Dubai. Pakistan defeated Bangladesh in a close game to qualify, while India had already qualified earlier.
India has been unbeaten thus far in the Asia Cup with one Super Four game remaining. They defeated Pakistan twice so far, once in the group stage by 7 wickets and then in the Super Fours by 6 wickets.
Ahead of the summit clash against India, former pacer Shoaib Akhtar urged the Pakistan team to forget about the aura of the Indian team’s dominance and play fearless cricket. The Rawalpindi Express also highlighted one factor that he believed held the key to derailing the Indian team's momentum.
“We need to break out of this mindset, break down the hawa (aura) that has been built around the Indian team, and go in with the same attitude we had today against Bangladesh. Take India on. That’s the kind of attitude you need. And please remember, we don’t need to go in thinking we have to bowl 20 overs. No! We need to get them out. When you go out to get them out, even India will realize they have to fight to score runs and that they won’t get any free runs.
Pakistan has to move beyond this and forget about India being the number one team. We have the number one fast bowler in Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf is as quick as anyone in the world today. So, there’s no issue if you go in with this attitude,” Akhtar said on the Game on Hai show.
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According to Akhtar, this Pakistani squad has demonstrated that they are capable of challenging the Men in Blue, who have proven to be far better than the other teams at the tournament. Furthermore, Akhtar urged the Pakistani team to target Abhishek Sharma early on and plan on dismissing him in the first few overs.
With 248 runs from five games, including a 39-ball 74 against Pakistan in the Super 4 match and a 13-ball 31 in the group stage match, Sharma has so far been the tournament's leading scorer.
“We have to get Abhishek out; that’s it. We can accept a boundary off a good length ball, accept a boundary off a good ball, or a sharp bouncer. As a bowler, I’m telling you, even a great like Ricky Ponting can miss a powerful bouncer or a good length ball. It’s not like Abhishek will do something amazing. He has mistimed and mis-cued shots in this tournament. The moment Abhishek gets out in the first two overs, mark my words, India will also be in trouble. The good starts they are getting right now, after which they are having a ball of a time, will struggle as well if Abhishek gets out early. So, there will be pressure on them,” Akhtar added.
“Look, no matter how India plays, Gautam, who played with us, will tell them, ‘Is team ka aitbaar nahi’ (You can’t trust this team to always play badly). You’re going to have to bring your A-game against Pakistan because they can turn things around at any minute. And now against Bangladesh, they have. Pakistan plays the worst cricket; they pick the worst side, but the minute the final comes, they play the best cricket, and they win the final. How many times has this happened with the Pakistan team? I think that’s exactly what they’ll do,” Akhtar concluded.
