Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai
Despite India once again playing sub-par cricket, they proved to be too strong for an opponent in the 2025 Asia Cup. On the back of a comfortable 41-run victory over Bangladesh, they also secured a place in the summit clash of the tournament. So, from India’s perspective, who might be their preferred opponent in the final? If we were to ask the same question to Suryakumar Yadav, the India skipper, the reply would be that India are geared to take on any team in the competition.
Yet, the brain doesn’t stop ticking as to which of the two opponents might trouble India more. The immediate answer could be Bangladesh. India’s eastern neighbours perhaps have a more disciplined bowling attack. We saw a glimpse of it in Wednesday’s game, where they gave away just 72 runs in the last 10 overs and 36 in the last five.
The likes of Rishad Hossain and Tanzim Hasan didn’t just bowl with control but also showed a fair amount of skill. Although Bangladesh’s batting doesn’t exactly have an array of power-hitters, they are a side that seem to be on an upward curve in the shortest format.
Here, it is prudent to look at the threats from Pakistan too. One of the key strengths of any Pakistan side is their unpredictability. As soon as Pakistan find some momentum, they can be a dangerous outfit. Who can forget their World Cup triumph in 1992? And 25 years later, Pakistan hoisted the Champions Trophy, beating India in the final. During the early phases of both the tournaments, it didn’t seem as if Pakistan were the favourites.
Pakistan’s players also have plenty of ammunition to motivate themselves. Losing two games to arch-rivals India in this Asia Cup would have hurt their ego. Suryakumar, India’s skipper, even went on to say, “India versus Pakistan is no more a rivalry”. Off the field, the handshake saga would also have riled up the Pakistan team.
Of course, the result of a game of cricket doesn’t depend on a set of players getting pumped up for a clash. It comes down to how well you execute your skills on the given day. On that day, Pakistan’s players would like to believe that if they raise their game, it could be their night of glory. In the shortest format, a couple of game-breaking performances could be enough to upset the applecart. It might be Sahibzada Farhan compiling a fifty at a healthy strike-rate or even Shaheen Afridi getting a few important wickets.
On paper, despite certain pieces of the jigsaw not fitting into the puzzle, India are the clear favourites to defend their title. But Pakistan’s unpredictability makes them slightly more dangerous than Bangladesh. However, for that to happen, they still have to defeat Bangladesh first.
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