Pakistan, India Gear Up for Asia Cup Clash Amid Tensions

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pakistan captain Salman Agha announced his team’s readiness to face India in the upcoming Asia Cup round on Sunday. This follows a tense group-stage match between the rivals last week, which ended without a handshake between players.

Pakistan secured their spot in the Super Fours stage after defeating the United Arab Emirates by 41 runs in their final Group A match on Wednesday. In the Super Fours, they will compete against two teams from Group B in a round-robin format.

“We are ready, we are ready for any challenge,” Agha said after the match. “We just want to play good cricket. If we play good cricket, like we have in the last few months, I think we’ll be good against any side.”

In their match against UAE, Fakhar Zaman scored 50 runs, but several of Pakistan’s frontline batters underperformed against a modest bowling attack, with opener Saim Ayub recording his third consecutive duck in the tournament. Agha noted the need for improvement in their middle order hitting.

“We got the job done, but we still need to improve our batting in the middle order,” he said. “That’s been a concern and something we need to work on.”

India, who defeated Pakistan in their prior encounter, dedicated their victory to the armed forces during a tense period following a four-day military conflict between the countries in May. Amid this backdrop, the absence of pre-match and post-match handshakes added to the drama.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has requested the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft for a “violation” of code of conduct, and there were discussions about withdrawing from the tournament before choosing to continue with Wednesday’s match.

If both teams advance, they could face each other again in the final on September 28.