Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expects the upcoming India-Pakistan Super Four clash in the Asia Cup 2025 to mirror their first encounter in the tournament. In that group stage game, the Men in Blue comfortably defeated their arch-rivals by seven wickets, finishing with 25 balls to spare.
India have maintained a strong record against Pakistan across formats in recent years, winning their last six completed matches since 2022. In T20Is, they have been particularly dominant, claiming victory in 28 of their previous 31 games. Commenting on the Super Four showdown, Ashwin shared his thoughts on his YouTube channel at 16:12:
“If Pakistan even competes in this game, it’ll be an upset. From their point of view, I just want to see Saim Ayub score some runs instead of getting out first ball because he is a good cricketer. There aren’t too many concerns to address for India. If I was India, I would want Pakistan to challenge them with the T20 World Cup around the corner.”
He further added:
“I doubt they’ll give much competition to India in the upcoming match as well. It’s just going to be yet another India-Pakistan match with the associate teams out of the tournament, that’s it. Pakistan are still struggling to even scale 150. They are barely getting there only by Shaheen Afridi’s batting.”
“If Pakistan score 160, it could be a good contest”- R Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin feels the India-Pakistan clash could become competitive if Pakistan manage to post around 160 runs. In their earlier encounter in the tournament, the Men in Green struggled, finishing with a modest 127/9 in 20 overs.
“If I were Pakistan, I’ll just aim at the stumps when bowling and swing hard when batting against India. Because quality wise, I am unsure if they can do much. Will they pick Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy? Will India continue playing Shivam Dube at 8 and give him overs? The wicket is getting better so maybe if Pakistan score 160, it might be a good game,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
He further concluded:
“Also, one request to Pakistan – please don’t bat first because of the pressure of the contest. By batting first, you make it a no-contest straightaway. By getting bowled out for 150, you are making the second half unwatchable.”
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