Pakistan booked their place in the Asia Cup 2025 final with a hard-fought 11-run win over Bangladesh in the Super Four clash on Thursday. Skipper Salman Ali Agha said the victory showed that his team is “special” and capable of beating any side — including arch-rivals India, who they will face in the title clash on Sunday.
Defending a modest total of 135/8, Pakistan’s bowlers delivered under pressure, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who smashed 19 off 13 balls with the bat and then took 3/17 with the ball to win the Player of the Match award.
“If you win these kinds of games, you must be a special team. Everyone played really well. There’s still some improvement needed in batting, but we’ll work on that,” Agha said at the presentation.
“We know what we need to do. We are good enough to beat anyone, and we will come on Sunday and try to beat them,” he added, looking ahead to the final.
Shaheen Afridi’s All-Round Impact
Afridi said Pakistan’s plan was to strike early with the new ball to create pressure on Bangladesh’s batting lineup.
“In a small total, you need early breakthroughs. Three overs in the powerplay — that was the difference,” he said.
Bangladesh’s Batting Fails Again
Stand-in captain Jaker Ali admitted Bangladesh’s batting let them down in consecutive games, including their earlier loss to India.
“As a batting unit, we lost the last two games. The bowlers did well, but we couldn’t support them,” he said.
India vs Pakistan – The Big Final
This will be the third clash between India and Pakistan in this tournament — after meeting once in the group stage and once in the Super Fours. Fans are anticipating a high-voltage final as the two rivals face off for the Asia Cup 2025 title on September 28 at Dubai International Stadium (8 PM IST).
