Against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan war, the India-Pakistan cricket team meeting in the Asia Cup was charged with emotion on and off the field.During the Super Fours clash, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his half-century with gun shot gestures, while pacer Haris Rauf was also seen making flying jet moves near the boundary rope. The behaviour raised questions about provocation in the high-stakes contest.Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson, however, brushed aside the concerns, describing the incidents as nothing more than passion in a pressure situation. “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 high-pressure games,” said the New Zealander.
On the Indian side, captain Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the earlier group-stage win over Pakistan to the victims of the Pahalgam attack. “We stand with the families of victims of the Pahalgam attack. We express our solidarity and we want to dedicate today’s win to the Armed Forces,” Surya told broadcasters after the game.The two teams will face in the final on Sunday in Dubai. It will mark the first instance of India and Pakistan facing in the summit clash of a continental championship. For the Men in Blue, it would be vital to finish the tournament with a spotless winning streak, as they look to retain the title that they had reclaimed in 2023.India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 Full SquadsIndia: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana.Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.
