It felt almost inevitable that the final would throw up a late curve-ball, and so it has. Hardik Pandya’s sore quad has ruled him out of the Asia Cup decider in Colombo, forcing India to tinker once more with a balance that has served them well all tournament.
Suryakumar Yadav, standing in as captain, won the toss and sent Pakistan in. He noted – not for the first time this fortnight – that the surface “gets better under lights”, and with rain lingering in the forecast he preferred to know the chase.
India’s reshuffle is simple on paper yet awkward in practice. Rinku Singh comes in as a specialist finisher, leaving India with five front-line bowlers and no true sixth option. Jasprit Bumrah returns, as expected, alongside Shivam Dube; Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh drop out.
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha accepted the invitation to bat with a shrug. His side have batted first throughout the competition and, by his own admission, are still searching for a complete performance. “We haven’t nailed the perfect game yet,” he said, “but the final is the right time to do it.”
The two teams have already met twice in this tournament, India winning both with room to spare. Even so, former India international Varun Aaron reckons the rivalry still crackles. “Pakistan have a huge point to prove against India,” he told the host broadcaster. Aakash Chopra added that the pre-match noise has calmed a little, the usual “surround sound” fading as players settle into routine.
There was a slightly awkward moment at the toss. Ravi Shastri spoke to Suryakumar, Waqar Younis to Agha, and the traditional three-way handshake never materialised; India have avoided such gestures all week amid heightened political tension.
Line-ups
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Key angle
Without Pandya, India’s new-ball duties may again fall to Dube, who has bowled sparingly at this level. Pakistan, meanwhile, continue with a two-spinner, three-seamer mix that allows Shaheen and Rauf short, sharp bursts.
Expect an early sight of slow bowling. Kuldeep and Axar have dominated Pakistan’s left-handers twice already, while Abrar Ahmed threatens to be equally slippery if there is any grip on offer.
Whatever the tactical quirks, both sides know the larger context. An Asia Cup title is up for grabs, and with it a sliver of bragging rights before next year’s World T20. As ever in this rivalry, the margins are thin, the pressure thick, and the story rarely straightforward.
