Asia Cup: Fans Say 1992 World Cup Heroics Will Inspire Pakistan In Final Against India

Having lost twice to India in the tournament, Pakistan will head into Sunday's Asia Cup final as the underdogs against their arch-rivals at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

They have also yet to win a game of cricket against India in two white-ball formats since October 2022.

But those stats have failed to dampen the spirits of Pakistan fans who arrived at the ICC Academy for the team's training session on Saturday to cheer the players on.

Among them was Mohammad Zaman, who has travelled to Dubai from Pakistan for the final.

Zaman had applied for the UAE visa before the start of the Asia Cup. But it was only on Friday that he received the visa.

“Just like the Pakistan team which struggled a lot to reach the final, I struggled to get the UAE visa. But now I am here, and the team is in the final. I am very excited for the match tomorrow and hopefully Pakistan will win,” Zaman told the Khaleej Times.

A passionate supporter of the Pakistan team, Zaman had quit his job in 2012 for the Asia Cup when his manager refused to approve his leave application.

“The Asia Cup was taking place in Bangladesh that year and I wanted to go and support Pakistan. My manager didn't approve my leave, so I quit the job and went to Bangladesh,” he recalled.

“I remember meeting the famous Indian fan Sudhir Chaudhary who came on a bicycle to Bangladesh to support India. It was an amazing experience and Pakistan went on to the win the Asia Cup!”

Hussain Lala, another Pakistan fan, hopes his team will draw inspiration from Imran Khan's 1992 World Cup-winning team.

“Pakistan have a history of winning finals when they struggle in early matches of a tournament,” he said.

“You have the great example of the 1992 World Cup, that team struggled a lot, but somehow made the final. You know what happened in that final (against England.”

But Asif Khan Lala, a Pakistani expat in Dubai, knows it's not going to be an easy challenge to play the red-hot Indian team in the final.

“I think it's going to be important how Shaheen Shah Afridi bowls to Abhishek Sharma. Abhishek has dominated him in the previous two matches. So we have to wait and see if Shaheen has an answer to Abhishek tomorrow,” said Khan who has watched all Pakistan's matches in the tournament so far.

“I paid 700 dirhams for the final ticket. The team will get great support from the fans. All they need to do is play good cricket to win the final.”

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