‘Just break their aura’: Shoaib Akhtar, Irfan Pathan, Wasim Akram weigh in on India vs Pakistan final

India and Pakistan are all set to face each other in the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday, September 28. Pakistan booked their place after beating Bangladesh by 11 runs in a thrilling Super 4 match on Thursday night. India had qualified for the final after defeating the same opposition as Pakistan a day earlier.

The upcoming India vs Pakistan clash is generating a lot of excitement among fans and experts alike, as it is the first time in history that both teams have reached the Asia Cup final together. India have already defeated Pakistan twice in the ongoing Asia Cup and will look to maintain their dominance and secure a historic third win in the final.

Experts react to historic India-Pakistan showdown

Meanwhile, cricket experts have weighed in on the upcoming India vs Pakistan clash. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan took to his official social media handle to point out the fact that these two teams will meet in the Asia Cup final for the first time in 41 years. He also highlighted the gap between India and other teams in the tournament, including Pakistan.

For the first time in 41 years of Asia Cup history, we’ll see an India vs Pakistan final. India have shown their dominance, the gap with others is clear. Pak team, meanwhile, have shown improvement specially in the bowling department.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 25, 2025

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Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar shared some mindset advice for his countrymen. Akhtar also said that India opener Abhishek Sharma should be a key target for Pakistani bowlers, saying early wickets of India’s top order could tilt the game in their favour.

“Come out of this mindset, keep their aura aside. Just break their aura. Just play with this mindset that you had in the match against Bangladesh. This is the kind of mindset you need. You don’t need to bowl 20 overs; you just need to get wickets,” Akhtar said on the Game On Hai show.

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“Mark my words, if Abhishek Sharma gets out in the first two overs, they will get in trouble. The starts they are getting, they are going to struggle if Abhishek gets out early. It’s not like that, Abhishek will not mistime the ball; he will do that; you just need to go for the kill. If you come out fighting, India will realise that we have to work hard for our runs,” he added.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram also shared his thoughts on the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup final. Akram backed Pakistan to do well in the summit clash after their recent win over Bangladesh, but said that the best team will win in the end.

“There is an India-Pakistan game in the finals, India are definitely favourites, but anything can happen. Pakistan should take confidence, momentum, back themselves, play sensible cricket… If Pakistan can take early wickets, we can put India on backfoot. I hope in the end the best team will win,” Akram told reporters.

Meanwhile, renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle criticised the way Pakistan celebrated after their narrow win over the Bangla Tigers. He said that Pakistan will have to improve their game significantly for them to even make a match against India on Sunday.

“I would have looked at Pakistan’s reaction after they won this game and there was joy and relief in equal measure. And I would have sat in that dressing room and said, if you are experiencing relief at beating Bangladesh, you can’t be ambitious enough. They should have steamrolled this. They only made 135. They won by 11 runs. I saw relief on their faces,” Bhogle told Cricbuzz.

“So, if I’m in India, I’m thinking, I mean, it’s very easy to think like that if you’re not in the change room. But I’m looking and thinking, look, they’re relieved that they won by 11 runs. So, what does it tell you about their confidence? They were 55 for 5 after 12 overs. For them to make a match of it in the final or maybe even win it, they’ll have to raise their game enormously. It’s not that they cannot, but you never know what happens, but they’ll really have to raise their game,” he added.