Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 28 : As India and Pakistan prepare for a historic Asia Cup 2025 final clash, young aspiring cricketers from Jammu and Kashmir are voicing their full support for Team India, expressing confidence in the side's consistency and strength.
Waris Rizwan, an aspiring cricketer from Anantnag, said, "India will win today because the team is very skilled and they have played consistently well. My favourite player is Abhishek Sharma because he is very reliable and has performed excellently. I will support India today since it is our own team."
Sharing a similar sentiment, Sheikh Ahmad Zaman, another aspiring cricketer, pointed to India's dominance over Pakistan in recent encounters.
"Obviously, India will win today because Pakistan has performed very poorly in their previous two matches against India. Based on this, India is likely to win. My favourite player is Jasprit Bumrah. Pakistani openers were easily dismissed early, whereas Indian openers have the ability to finish the match on their own," he said.
Forty-one years have passed since the inaugural Asia Cup in 1984, and for the first time, India and Pakistan have reached the final together. In both encounters at the Asia Cup 2025, India has comprehensively defeated Pakistan.
Pakistan will walk into the clash as the underdogs, considering they have lost 12 out of their 15 T20I meetings against India. A series of ups and downs marked Pakistan's journey to the final. Skipper Salman Agha and his troops almost crashed out after Bangladesh had them in a corner during their Super Fours fixture. However, Pakistan dug deep and came from behind to conjure an 11-run victory to storm into the final.
Before the final, India had an injury scare with Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya suffering from cramps during the final Super Fours contest against Sri Lanka. They spent the majority of the parts on the sidelines but have been declared fit before the rivalry clash.
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
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.