Pakistan’s Head Coach instructs team to stay focused ahead of Asia Cup Final

DUBAI: Pakistan cricket team head coach Mike Hesson has instructed the players to focus only on the game when they take on India in the Asia Cup final.

He said that, despite the tension that arose in the last two matches, the players should refrain from emotional reactions.

Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 11 runs in a tough match in Dubai on Thursday and qualified for the Asia Cup final for the first time in history, where it will face arch-rivals India.

It may be recalled that two matches have been played between the two teams in this tournament, in which India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets and 6 wickets.

After these matches, the players also refused to shake hands, while political and aggressive gestures were also seen from both sides.

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav was accused of making a political statement after the first match, while Pakistani opener Sahibzada Farhan and fast bowler Haris Rauf made aggressive gestures in the second match.

Head coach Hesson said that we have to play with consistency against a strong team like India because they are the number one team in the world. If we keep them under pressure, then victory can be ours.

He added that in the last match, the team played better than in the first match. The first match was played a little slowly, and India took complete control.

In the second match, we kept India under control for most of the time, but Abhishek Sharma’s brilliant innings changed the outcome.

Abhishek Sharma played an aggressive innings of 74 runs off 39 balls to help India achieve the target of 172 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

Hesson said that the players have earned the right to play the final with hard work; now it is up to them to make the most of this opportunity.