“We'd love to be able to meet India again in the final” - Sahibzada Farhan hoping for an Indo-Pak final in Asia Cup 2025

India has already asserted its dominance over Pakistan twice in the ongoing Asia Cup — first in the group stage and then again in the Super Four clash held on Sunday, September 21. Both matches ended in comfortable victories for the Men in Blue, who now find themselves in a strong position to qualify for the final. With two convincing wins over their arch-rivals, India has emerged as a clear favourite to make it to the summit clash of the tournament.

Despite these setbacks, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan remains hopeful of a third showdown between the two cricketing giants — this time in the final scheduled for September 28. For that dream to materialize, however, Pakistan must first overcome significant challenges. After beating Sri Lanka on Tuesday, they now have to go past Bangladesh who are set to lock horns against them on Thursday (September 25).

Coming back to Farhan, he stood out for Pakistan in the recent clash against India with a fluent 58 off 45 balls. He expressed optimism about his team’s approach. His animated "gunshot" celebration upon reaching his fifty became a talking point, although he later clarified it was unplanned. 

"That celebration was just a spur-of-the-moment. I rarely celebrate when I get to fifty. But when I got there, I suddenly got the idea of celebrating, and so I did without knowing or caring how people would interpret it," he explained. Farhan emphasized the importance of aggressive cricket, not just against India but against any opponent. “We should play aggressive cricket against any team, not just India, the way we played today. We'd love to be able to meet India again in the final,” he added.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka to stay alive

Meanwhile, Pakistan stayed alive in the Asia Cup with a win over Sri Lanka in their second Super Four clash. Hussain Talat won the player of the match award for picking up two wickets and later playing a crucial hand of 32* runs in the tricky run-chase of 134. Pakistan were 80/5 at one stage in the chase, but Talat joined hands with Mohammad Nawaz to take his team over the line.

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