For the first time in the 41-year history of the Asia Cup, India and Pakistan have locked horns today in the final. Things are already heated up between the arch-rivals and the final is set to be a thriller in Dubai. However, with Pakistan's batting struggling in the tournament, they are certainly missing their key and senior batters, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Interestingly, they came under the scanner multiple times for their strike rates and were eventually left out of Pakistan's T20I squad. Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has time and again pointed out that the star duo will have to work on their strike rates to make a comeback to the side. However, without Babar and Rizwan, Pakistan's batting has struggled immensely in this Asia Cup with the team not posting big scores at all.
Will Pakistan's aggressive approach work today?
Pakistan batters have shown intent in the powerplay overs, but have not been able to carry on the momentum, posting below-par scores in almost every match at the Asia Cup. Even in the must-win game against Bangladesh, they could only score 135 runs, only for their bowlers to create magic and win the match in the end. Against the UAE, too, Pakistan batters struggled in the group stage and they will have to improve immensely in the final, even to compete against India.
As for Babar and Rizwan, they are the leading run-scorers for Pakistan in the shortest format of the game and Pakistan have left them out from the Asia Cup squad. Will they make a comeback to the team with the T20 World Cup approaching in the next few months? There have been reports of Babar making a comeback soon after the Asia Cup but nothing is confirmed as of now.
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