Asia Cup 2025 final: India have an air of destiny, but underdogs Pakistan seem resurgent and have a history of rising to the big occasion | Cricket News

The fixture was finalised only on Thursday, when Pakistan scraped past Bangladesh, but the narratives seem like being spun for ages, the analysis and arguments, the predictions and speculations, the intrigue and the suspense. If this were a movie, the audience would complain that there is too much noise, and parents would advise curious teenagers to not lip-read the cricketers. But it is a fitting showpiece, which promises a full house despite the 350 dirham ticket price, and would bring parts of the host nation to a grinding halt on Sunday evening.

Umpires mediate between India’s players Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and Pakistani players Pakistan’s Haris Rauf, Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz during the Asia Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

It’s the only match that matters in the Asia Cup. This has been a low-quality drag of a tournament, but it doesn’t matter that India are unbeaten in the tournament, or they are on a eight-match unbeaten streak, or they comfortably beat Pakistan in the last two meetings; or that Pakistan are schizophrenic, or they are rebuilding, or they are no match, man-to-man, for India’s glittering array of T20 personnel.

To put it differently, it is not as unequal a rivalry as India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav thinks it is. Not least the final, where form and past superiority count for precious little. India are the well-grooved, state-of-the-art favourites over Pakistan’s re-energised yet rebuilding bunch.
The final of a tournament could be an isolated beast. It blurs the disparity in quality. Pressure kicks in, nerves begin to jangle, over-thinking could ignite confusion and chaos. The underdog could harness a siege mentality and over-perform.

Moreover, since India and Pakistan met for the first time in the tournament, the dynamics have subtly altered. Pakistan have discovered the wherewithal to fight back from adversity, like in the games against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where they found themselves a nudge away from perdition. They have found a spirit of defiance as the tournament has rolled on.

Totemic seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has rediscovered some of his bite and snap of the past. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel predicts an edge-of-the-seat bout. “Shaheen is obviously an aggressive bowler who will try and knock you over. And Abhishek (Sharma) is not going to hold back. 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,” he said.

Abhishek won the first two rounds, but could Afridi land the knockout blow?
His accomplice Haris Rauf is no longer a tormented figure, and exhibited his old ferocity against Sri Lanka. Faheem Ashraf and Talat Hussain have made their breaks count. Fakhar Zaman has tormented India in the past. Block by block, the pieces are falling into place in the jigsaw puzzle that is Pakistan cricket. Their batting is not without consternation, and is at best a sum of its collective parts. But they exude the vibe of a resurgent side, just as cracks have begun to creak on India’s supposedly impenetrable armour.

Umpire mediates between Indian players Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and Haris Rauf during the Asia Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

History gives hope

Besides, Pakistan has a knack, or a glorious mystery, of winning tournaments by stealth. Like the 1992 World Cup, beneficiaries of a rain rule, or more recently the 2017 Champions Trophy, where they were ranked eighth among eight teams. Fakhar Zaman was caught behind off a no-ball from Jasprit Bumrah and cracked a match-winning hundred in the final.

In 1992, Wasim Akram produced two dream balls to stub England’s hopes. In 2017, Mohammad Amir’s new-ball burst effectively settled the deal.

Perhaps, the concept of invincibility is elusive in this format.

“We (India) are yet to play the complete game,” Morkel would say. As the tournament has unfolded, India’s (comparative) fallibilities have been peeled off. They have been over-dependent on Abhishek Sharma’s blistering starts. What if he fails once?

Suryakumar, arguably his country’s finest T20 exponent, is experiencing a fallow spell. Bumrah’s form has fluctuated. He recorded his third worst-ever figures in T20Is in the last game against Pakistan. Have Pakistan’s batsmen decoded him? Or was it just a one-off.

41 years in the making…. 🔥

One of the biggest matches in Asia Cup history! 🏆

Watch #INDvPAK in the #DPWorldAsiaCup2025 FINAL, live tomorrow 7 PM onwards, on the Sony Sports Network TV channels & Sony LIV.#SonySportsNetwork pic.twitter.com/eixgxfqv0N

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 27, 2025

What if Hardik Pandya fails the fitness test? He bowled only one over against Sri Lanka and was seen limping, holding his left thigh, to the dressing room. Morkel said it could be nothing more than a cramp. So would his colleagues and India’s supporters wish.

Pandya’s absence disrupts the side’s balance. Should he not win the fitness race, India’s batting depth would be compromised. India could summon their most prolific wicket-taker in this format, Arshdeep Singh, only that in his last two games, he has bled 10 runs an over.

Pakistan’s batsmen could study how Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera deciphered Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy. India no longer daunt them as they did before the tournament or after the first game, even though they are the stronger side. A Pakistan victory would be one for the underdog, even though India have an inescapable air of destiny about them.