41 years in the making: Asia Cup gets its ultimate rivalry as India face Pakistan in the final

The stage is set for one of cricket’s most charged encounters. On Sunday, India and Pakistan will meet in an Asia Cup final for the very first time in the tournament’s 41-year history, a clash that promises to be as much about temperament and pride as it is about runs and wickets.

- TRIDIB BAPARNASH

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson brushed aside the weight of back-to-back defeats to their arch-rivals, insisting that the only result that truly matters is the one that will unfold in Sunday’s final. India have beaten them twice already in this edition, once by seven wickets in the group stage on September 14, then again by six wickets in the Super 4s on September 21. But Hesson put up a brave face, suggesting that those defeats are a thing of the past.

“We know that we played on the 14th. We played on the 21st. But really, the only match that really counts is the one at the end. And that will be our focus. Trying to play our best game when it counts,” Hesson declared, his words carrying both defiance and belief.

For decades, the Asia Cup has delivered riveting chapters in the India-Pakistan rivalry, from Sharjah classics to unforgettable one-day battles. Yet never before have these two giants of the subcontinent squared off in a continental title match. On Sunday, history itself will walk out alongside the players, the burden of expectation as heavy as the occasion is rare.