Follow UsPakistan head coach Mike Hesson has urged his players to shut out the noise and concentrate solely on cricket ahead of the Asia Cup 2025 final against India in Dubai on September 28 (Sunday). The Men in Green have already suffered two defeats against Suryakumar Yadav’s side in this tournament, and the build-up has been dominated by on-field gestures, verbal exchanges, and the usual off-field tensions between the two nations.
"Look, my message to the players is just focus on cricket, and that certainly we will be doing. In terms of gestures, there has always been passion in terms of high-pressure games. We've deserved this opportunity. Now it's up to us to make the most of it. All games up to this point have been about getting ourselves in a position to win the trophy. The only match that counts is the final, and that will be our focus, to play our best game when it matters,” said Hesson.
Acknowledging India’s strength, he added, "We have to be good enough to put India under pressure for longer because there is a reason why they are ranked the top side in the world. We have to put them under pressure and that will be our challenge. I think the way we played against India in the last match was a huge step up from the first game. The first game was a bit passive, we allowed India to control the game.
"The last match we had that game by the scruff of the neck for long periods and it took an exceptional innings from Abhishek Sharma that took the game away from us. We have deserved this opportunity so it's now up to us to make the most of it. We have been trying to be in a position to win the trophy.”
Pakistan lost to India by six wickets in their opening Super Fours stage clash but responded with wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to book their spot in the final. After a shaky batting display against Bangladesh, where they posted just 135/8, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf stepped up with the ball to secure an 11-run victory.
"Look, whenever you reach different phases of a tournament, your opposition often doesn't allow you to play the perfect game, and we were far from perfect. We realised that in the first 10 overs," Hesson said.
"But there's a huge amount of character in this group. We've won many games in the last few months where we were far from controlling the full 40 overs. We had to fight back, but one thing I can say is that the team is incredibly proud to represent Pakistan.
"Every single player believed that we could fight our way out of it. That's what you want in a team, especially when representing a country. So yes, I'm incredibly proud of the way we fought. We don't want to be four for 33 all the time, but the fact that we can win from that position shows the character of this group.”
India and Pakistan have faced each other 15 times in T20Is, with Pakistan winning just three encounters.