Asia Cup 2025: Hesson wants Pakistan to ‘focus on the cricket’ ahead of final against India

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson’s message to his team ahead of the first-ever Asia Cup final against India is clear: ‘Just focus on the cricket.’

“I deal with the cricket side. In terms of gestures, there has always been a passion in high-pressure games. Our focus will be on playing a good game,” Hesson said after Pakistan’s 11-run win over Bangladesh on Thursday, which set up its date in the final with the Men in Blue.

The Super Four match between India and Pakistan on Sunday caused a stir off the field, with Haris Rauf’s gestures to fans at the boundary and opening batter Sahibzada Farhan’s gunshot celebration being deemed in bad taste.

The incidents prompted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to file a complaint against the Pakistani duo with the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the hearing is expected to take place on Friday.

Though a one-off contest between the archrivals will decide the winner of the continental showpiece, India and Pakistan have been on opposite sides of the spectrum throughout the tournament. While India has been dominant, Pakistan has had to turn things around drastically to win its last two Super Four games, against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

However, Hesson said the team’s bouncebackability is what also gives it confidence.

“When you win games like these, when everyone writes you off 10 overs into the match, that builds a bit of confidence in the group as well,” the Kiwi said after the win over Bangladesh.

Pakistan was reduced to 33 for four after Bangladesh elected to field. From there, cameos from Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi helped it post a serviceable 135 for eight. With the ball, Pakistan was spot-on right from the word go and never allowed Bangladesh to settle.

“We were far from perfect; we realised that in the first 10 overs. But there is a huge amount of character in this group. We have won a lot of games in the last few months,” Hesson proudly said.

“This team is incredibly proud to represent Pakistan. Every single one of them had the belief that we could fight our way out of it. We don’t want to be 4/33 all the time, but the fact that we can win games from that position just shows the character in the group,” he added.

In difficult batting conditions, Hesson is not chasing perfection but admitted that Pakistan’s top-order needed to contribute more. Against Sri Lanka, too, Pakistan’s batting collapsed to 57 for four while chasing 134, leaving all-rounders Hussain Talat and Nawaz to bail the team out.

“If we are searching for perfection from a batting point of view, on these surfaces, you are not going to get it. We need to be better with the bat, and we need more contributions from the top order. Every time we tried to play an aggressive shot today, we got out,” Hesson said, questioning the top-order’s decision-making.

Pakistan has lost its last seven international matches against India, and Hesson believes the key to snapping this streak will be to put the Men in Blue under pressure for long periods of time.

“The way we played against India in the last match was a huge step up from the first game. In the first game, we were passive; we allowed India to control the game. In the last game, we had them by the scruff of the neck for long periods of it. It took an exceptional innings from Abhishek Sharma to take the game away from us. We have to be good enough to be able to put India under pressure for long enough,” Hesson reasoned.

Ten overs into the last contest between the teams, Pakistan was cruising at 91 for one 10 overs. From there, the middle-order gave way, and Pakistan could only manage 171 in 20 overs. With the ball, Pakistan made inroads after the PowerPlay, but it was too late by then.

Pakistan will hope to set things right on the third attempt, which Hesson says is the ‘only match that counts’.

“We have deserved this opportunity, so it is now up to us to make the most of it. The only match that really counts is the one at the end,” the coach said.

Published on Sep 26, 2025