New Delhi, Sep 30 Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif opined that Team India handled the pressure situation really well against Pakistan during the latter team’s batting innings, saying that the Men in Green failed to bounce back into the game there on in the Asia Cup 2025 final.
The arch-rivals faced off in the final of the tournament at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, where the Suryakumar Yadav-led side emerged victorious and earned the championship title for a record-extending ninth time.
Latif felt that the Indian spinners did a great job in the 15th to 17th overs of the first innings, hailing the team’s game awareness.
“It wasn’t so much that Pakistan bowled well, but rather that India didn’t bat well. The Pakistan captain failed to apply pressure. When Indian spinners Kuldeep, Axar, and Varun took wickets in 15 to 17 overs, Pakistan couldn't come back into the game. India’s game awareness and ability to handle the situation were very powerful. When Abrar dismissed Sanju, the game could have turned, but then Haris came on to bowl and conceded 17 runs — that was a wrong move by Pakistan,” Latif told IANS.
The 56-year-old was critical of Haris Rauf, saying that the right-arm fast bowler is ‘too predictable.’ Latif further opined that Rauf will have to adapt to bowling with the new ball, rather than focusing solely on bowling with the old ball, if he wants to succeed in white-ball cricket.
“Haris Rauf is too predictable, while Shaheen Afridi was fine. His disadvantage is that he doesn’t bowl with the new ball, and he needs to work on that. The coaching staff hasn’t focused on this aspect at all — they’ve only made him bowl with the old ball. If Haris wants to survive in international ODI and T20I cricket, he'll have to practice bowling with the new ball,” he added.
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