Despite suffering crushing losses to India on consecutive Sundays in the current Asia Cup, Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson is confident that the outcome on this Sunday will what counts when the bitter rivals face off in an Asia Cup final for the first time in 41 years.
Following a seven-wicket victory against Pakistan in a group league match, India easily defeated them by six wickets in the Super 4s stage.
“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 responded to a question on his message to his team ahead of Sunday’s final, after they defeated Bangladesh by 11 runs on Thursday.
India and Pakistan have never faced each other in the Asia Cup final since the tournament’s inception in 1984, when it was first staged exclusively in Sharjah.
His team “deserved the opportunity” in this edition, according to Hesson.
“So now it’s up to us to make the most of it. And I think all the games that have happened up to this point now have been around trying to get yourself in a position to win the trophy. And that’s what we’ve been talking about the whole time,” he added.
Pakistan media manager Naeem Gillani eventually gave in to pressure from the Indian media on Thursday after adamantly refusing to let them ask a question.
“Look, my message is we just focus on the cricket and that’s certainly what we’ll be doing. Those things, you probably know more about than me,” Hesson responded when asked how the team is handling the outside noise and the ICC hearings that his players Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan are facing for making provocative gestures during the matches against India.
“I deal with the cricket side. In terms of gestures, look, there’s always a bit of passion, in terms of when you’re in high-pressure games. But we will be having our focus on playing a good game and focusing on the cricket, and that’s part of my job.”
