India and Pakistan will once again face off in the Asia Cup 2025. With both clubs moving to the Super Four, the arch rivals will face off again on September 21 in Dubai. Pakistan will be under enormous pressure to perform after losing by seven wickets in their previous match and being embroiled in a no-handshake controversy. However, Captain Salman Agha is optimistic that his team will rise to the occasion.
Pakistan secured their berth in the Super Four with a 41-run victory over the United Arab Emirates. Despite scoring a score of 146/9, their bowlers secured victory over a UAE team. Fakhar Zaman’s fifty was the sole major contribution at the top, but Shaheen Afridi’s late cameo (29* off 14) boosted the innings’ momentum.
We’ll be good against any side: Salman Agha
The win helped Men in Green put aside the drama around their threatened boycott of the UAE match, which came from their objections to match referee Andy Pycroft after the handshake controversy with India. Speaking after the victory over the UAE, Salman Agha stressed the need for his team to focus on playing quality cricket and not get distracted by external noise.
“Yeah, we’re ready for any challenge. We just want to play good cricket, and if we play good cricket like we’ve been playing for the last few months. I think we’ll be good against any side,” said Agha in the post-match presentation.
The skipper admitted that Pakistan’s batting woes are a major concern. He pointed to their struggles in the middle overs, which have prevented them from posting competitive totals.
“We got the job done, but we still need to bat better in the middle over. I think that’s what is concerning for us for a few games now. We need to look at that. We haven’t batted our best yet, but we’re still finding a way to score around 150. If we batted well in the middle over, we probably will end up scoring 170-180, no matter which team against we are playing against. So yeah, the middle overs, if we batted well there, we will be very good,” he added.
India
