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Asia Cup 2025: India vs Pakistan | Final | Dubai | September 28 | Pre-Match Discussion

34 wins and 3 losses
India's record in T20 Internationals since January 1, 2024

Nobody is unbeatable but this Indian side is operating at an incredibly high level.
 
34 wins and 3 losses
India's record in T20 Internationals since January 1, 2024

Nobody is unbeatable but this Indian side is operating at an incredibly high level.

I bet the 3 losses were also extremely close competitive last ball or last over losses or losses by just a few runs.
 
Let me give you some reality check. India dropped Ashwin/Jadeja after that brought Kuldeep/Chahal back.

Since then

Pakistan vs India with KUldeep across formats


Played 9

Lost 8
No result 1
Agreed but they played him well in last game, right now it's all about Abhishek, he is the guy that is making a huge different because he's in a great form, if we handle Abhishek, Pandya and Kuldeep well, it would be a good game.
 
Abhishek is an absolute monster, but he is due for a failure. Worst case scenario, even if he falls cheaply on the 28th, we still have more than enough firepower in the arsenal to decimate a team like Pak.
 
Many congratulations to my Pakistani forum mates and esteemed friends on reaching the final after overcoming early setbacks and close encounters against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This achievement shows that despite a difficult recent phase, Pakistan remains the second-best team in Asia.

The final promises to be a challenging contest for India, who have won the last eight international matches against Pakistan. The law of averages does not favor India here, and just as in the 2017 Champions Trophy, a slip in the final cannot be ruled out despite India being the stronger side overall.

What a win in the final would mean for Pakistan:
• Above all, it would restore national and cricketing pride after the regrettable unsportsmanlike actions of the ICT during the Asia Cup.
• It would provide a significant boost at a time when interest in the game has dropped a bit due to the absence of superstars and a long spell of poor results. Such a win could mark the beginning of a turnaround, giving both the coaching staff and younger players greater confidence and security to perform.
• It would also reaffirm the rivalry with India at a time when some in India have sought to downplay its significance.

What a win in the final would mean for India:
• Securing an unprecedented 3-0 record over Pakistan in a single tournament, ending with the trophy would underline India’s complete dominance over Pakistan and the rest of Asia.
• It would be the team’s third trophy in just 18 months, placing this run among the most successful streaks in cricketing history.

In the end, I hope for a competitive final where both sides focus on playing positive, quality cricket above all else.

I urge match watchers and fellow forum members to display a high degree of sportsmanship spirit while exchanges their thoughts on this match without getting needlessly emotional and disrespectful to the other country and group of fans. This is sports. It’s not war. We had that in May which we fought bravely.
And actually you could add. A Pak win would be really good for cricket overall. A number 7 ranked beating a favoured no1 dominant cricketing nation. It would show exactly why T20 cricket provides good entertainment for neutral fans.
 
what were your views personally on each of the three’s gestures/ words?
I am personally okay with it as long there’s no abuse and physicality involved. I think little bit of trash talking is ok and doesn’t hurt anyone, and cricket need more of it.

I am sick of seeing Pakistani players suck up to the likes of Kohli and losers like Amir are still doing it. Pakistan should give it to Indian players whenever they play each other.

This Asia Cup has brought some spiciness back to Pakistan vs India matches and I hope it continues.
 
Agreed but they played him well in last game, right now it's all about Abhishek, he is the guy that is making a huge different because he's in a great form, if we handle Abhishek, Pandya and Kuldeep well, it would be a good game.
You have clearly not seen Tilak Varma. He scored back to back centuries in SA.
 
I am personally okay with it as long there’s no abuse and physicality involved. I think little bit of trash talking is ok and doesn’t hurt anyone, and cricket need more of it.

I am sick of seeing Pakistani players suck up to the likes of Kohli and losers like Amir are still doing it. Pakistan should give it to Indian players whenever they play each other.

This Asia Cup has brought some spiciness back to Pakistan vs India matches and I hope it continues.

You keep mentioning Amir and Kohli, but what excuse do you have for Babar’s tweet for Kohli?
 
Why are the Indians making a loser sign?

Rohit Sharma is doing it in the ads on the screen. Players using it to celebrate their milestones....
 
In this thread you are the most arrogant lol
I can understand being upset about the no-handshake or Surya's statements. I can understand believing India will be under extreme pressure to win on Sunday.

But some of them forget how arrogant they are to not even acknowledge that this is the current T20 WC champion they're talking about and somehow, just because it's a final, Pak will turn into a mythical beast that will crush "softies like Gill and Kuldeep".

Ofc, because Pakistan has such a stellar record in Finals right :jimmy (Yeah, yeah CT 17)

Effeminate Gill, softies, an opener who will be gone in a few years apparently because he thrashes bowlers :dhoni. We will admire bowlers who abuse AFTER getting thrashed. No logic. No cricketing sense. Sreesanth type self-belief.
 
Now that both sky and rauf are fined, Pakistan players should just relax mentally and focus on the game.

Take a day off don’t talk about anything related to cricket or indo-Pak issues and focus on the game
 
Pakistanis suffer from MASSIVE confirmation bias.

Since 2015 the record has been 3-15

So thing is the performances in those 3 lead Pakistanis to believe that certain players have done "well" against India.

Fakhar Zaman has no T20 performances against India. Post 2017 CT he has failed in ODIs too. KL Rahul/Shreyas Iyer types have better stats vs Pakistan. Not even including Kohli/Rohit.

Shaheen Afridi has no ODI perfromances against India. Post 2021 T20 WC has failed in T20s too. Arshdeep, Hardik, Bhuvi have better states vs Pak as does Bumrah.
Yea man I’m convinced - but are you yet?
 
Good news for India, bad news for Pakistan: India’s middle order is firing and looking solid ahead of the finals, with Sanju Samson looks in very good touch… things must be getting tense in the Pakistan camp!

:klopp :kp
 
It’s 50-50. Pakistan is miles behind on skill level but it will be a game of nerves. India will be under more pressure considering it’s a final against Pakistan.

Pakistan can pull it off as any team can win a T20 match no matter the skill difference and Pakistan is still better than the rest of the teams participating in Asia Cup and is deservingly in the final.

It’s 80-20 in favor of India right now. Gone are the days when in T20 any team could beat anyone on their day . the format has matured with set methods and defined roles. Today it’s about skill sets and the ability to produce something extraordinary when required.

Pakistan’s batting is the real issue. Their top 6 lack the strike rates to compete with India’s lineup . the gulf is massive. Players like Agha, Talat, and Saim are liabilities without any real power game ,while Fakhar looks and bats like tailender.. Nawaz has been their only reliable run-getter, with Shaheen and Faheem’s late slogs just adding some respectability.

Bowling is more evenly matched, though India still hold a slight edge with Bumrah and Kuldeep. Fielding has been surprising , Pakistan have actually outshone India in this department during the tournament.
 
Agha captaincy was on mark last match, probably for the first time. Bowling is looking good but against India I do not have much hope for our spinners, so Shaheen and Haris need to win the match for Pakistan by bowling good line and lengths, and the energy they showed in the last match. Batting wise I would have Haris batting at 3rd and Saim being replaced by Hasan Nawaz and bat ahead of Talat, but I feel no change will be made to the team, so we will have to watch another failure from Saim and Haris wasted in lower order. Also no need to bat Shaheen ahead of Faheem or Mohd Nawaz, it is better he plays less ball otherwise he ends up wasting balls in trying to heave every ball.
Won’t happen. Haris is the type of bowler Indian batsmen love to spank around and Shaheen hasn’t been his best self. India has more than what’s needed to counter Pak bowling. India is very beatable but Pak is team is just so behind.
 
They were never arrogant dude :) ONly arrogance i see if from pak fans.
Well this is a Pakistani forum. One would expect people of other nationalities to be a bit curteous when interating with the hosts but can't expect indians to behave and be respectful. Just like how they act in foreign countries like they are suffering from "Main Character" syndrome.
 
India is not invincible. There are many chinks in their armor. Its just that Pakistan haven't been good enough to expose those chinks. So far almost one third of their runs have been scored by Abhishek. also given Abhishek's stellar run rate as compared to India's run rate across its five matches it is obvious that the rest of India's batsmen have been far less fluent. Abhishek himself has often looked scratchy at the start. On the bowling side Bumrah hasn't been at his best and the 20 overs of the fourth and fifth bowler in Pandya, Dube and Axar can be exploited if handled intelligently.

The most crucial thing, regardless of the toss (i guess Pakistan will continue their bat first strategy if they win and India will put them in given the last two matches) will be the Pakistani bowling powerplay. The results of that will most likely decide the game. Pakistan must get 2 wickets including Abhishek if they are to have a chance. Take another in the first 8 and there is a great chance India will promote Axar to consolidate. I don't foresee any changes in the bowlers. If I was Salman i would risk bowling Saim or Abrar in the first four overs rather than opening with Faheem.

On the batting side we should replace Talat with Hassan Nawaz. At his best Talat will give you a run a ball 20-25. On the contrary a similar score by Hasan will be much more impactful. There is a 90% chance that Talat will not bowl given the other options. We must try and dominate their spinners. Disturb Varun's lengths and dominate Kuldeep at the start and they are both different bowlers. Bumrah, despite what happened in the last game deserves respect. Farhan played him really well last time but i still consider him the main threat.

Overall, there is no denying the fact that man for man India is a better team but on the day that doesn't matter much. Pakistan need to be aggressive in an intelligent way and try not to repeat the confusion and timidness that they showed in the second half of the first innings in the last game.
Nissanka and Perera proving the point about Indian spinners. Take them on and they falter. Pakistan might not be as good against spin but no point being defensive.
 
I live in my own country. I live in a little world within this that I have carefully constructed. How are things for you. Hope they're good. If not, hope they get better.
Now imagine someone comes to your country and starts badmouthing India and Indians? How would you you react to that?
 
Srilanka just couldnt hit in last 10 overs, strategy on sunday should be simple, capitalize first 10 overs. I think its the issue of ball getting soft. Same happened in 2nd india vs pak match. Both india and pak got stuck in last 10 overs of their innings
 
India can’t be beaten by any other asian team. Even Sri Lanka after getting so close bottled it just now. I advise fellow Pakistanis not to invest too much in the final and not to delude themselves by expecting India will have an off day. Keep your expectations low and you won’t be disappointed. Just be happy Pakistan made it this far.
 
There are a lot of practical pakistan fans who keep their expectations realistic. But some hardcore fans don't rate their chances based on their world standing, but based on one ball encounter, two ball encounter. They always go overboard with these one over battle, one ball battle while missing the bigger picture. What will these fans do in the world cup when they get beat down from bigger teams? This is a hit and giggle format where anyone can win against any team. Even here they have a record of 0-7 against India. Zimbabwe beat this current Indian team defending 111 runs. Afghanistan tied with this Indian team before losing in super over. Do you see any of them going overboard?
The match Zimbabwe won was against a pure B team when the main 15 was in Mumbai for the victory parade.
 
If you know Abishekh wants to hit the first ball out the ground, why not just try bowling a yorker.

Give him length and you’re screwed.

Every ball should be aimed for the toes. Give him a Beamer to the head as well to keep him back.

How hard can it be.
 
If you know Abishekh wants to hit the first ball out the ground, why not just try bowling a yorker.

Give him length and you’re screwed.

Every ball should be aimed for the toes. Give him a Beamer to the head as well to keep him back.

How hard can it be.

Exactly being nice to these injuns is pointless. They only understand one way. Make them bleed and cry on Sunday.
 
Morne Morkel, Indian bowling coach on the match up between Abhishek Sharma and Shaheen Shah Afridi:

"Shaheen is obviously an aggressive bowler that will try and knock you over. And Abhishek is not going to hold back. I think so far, every time these two went head-to-head, we all as cricket supporters and fans are on the edge of our seats, and that's great for the game. Yeah, so let's look forward to that on Sunday and enjoy the battle."
 
Morne Morkel, Indian bowling coach on the match up between Abhishek Sharma and Shaheen Shah Afridi:

"Shaheen is obviously an aggressive bowler that will try and knock you over. And Abhishek is not going to hold back. I think so far, every time these two went head-to-head, we all as cricket supporters and fans are on the edge of our seats, and that's great for the game. Yeah, so let's look forward to that on Sunday and enjoy the battle."
What do you think will happen when they meet on Sunday? Currently Abhishek is ahead 2-0.
 
So far Abhishek used the crease to perfection to negate whatever Shaheen had to offer. Shaheen has become predictable and lack variations, I am actually a little worried about Rauf, he has that ability to unsettle even the best bats through sheer pace.
 
Morne Morkel, Indian bowling coach on the match up between Abhishek Sharma and Shaheen Shah Afridi:

"Shaheen is obviously an aggressive bowler that will try and knock you over. And Abhishek is not going to hold back. I think so far, every time these two went head-to-head, we all as cricket supporters and fans are on the edge of our seats, and that's great for the game. Yeah, so let's look forward to that on Sunday and enjoy the battle."
It’s Gill who has performed well against SSA..
 
I’ll have to probably filter and not respond to lot of posts for next two days, the pre match thread is already high traffic trash talk fest pool.
 
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