India vs Pakistan: A final 41 years in the making

The Asia Cup has always promised it, but somehow the script has never quite made it to the final scene. The dream clash has been teased again and again, only for the storyline to collapse at the last hurdle. This year, though, the wait is over. For the first time in the 41-year history of the competition, India and Pakistan will meet in the final. Tomorrow night in Dubai, the biggest rivalry in cricket will decide the champion of Asia.

It took Bangladesh's self-destruction to set the stage. Against Pakistan in what was effectively a semi-final, Bangladesh had their opponents cornered at 55 for 5 inside 11 overs. A controlled display might have carried them into the final, but instead it unravelled in a blur of rash strokes, muddled thinking and lost composure. The defeat ensured Pakistan's progress, and in doing so cleared the path for the most lucrative final the Asian Cricket Council could have wished for. Few administrators will complain when an India–Pakistan contest brings not only global attention but also a flood of advertising and broadcasting revenue.

The two finalists, though, arrive by very different routes. India have been relentless throughout this campaign, sweeping aside opponents with six straight wins. Their batting order looks balanced and confident, their bowlers have found rhythm in all conditions, and their form has made them the most complete side in the tournament. Pakistan, on the other hand, have stumbled. Twice they faced India earlier in the tournament, and twice they were brushed aside. Against Bangladesh they were pushed to the brink before clawing back. Their journey has been patchy, full of contradictions, but that very unpredictability is what has always defined them. They can be hopeless one moment and unstoppable the next.

The rivalry, too, has spilled beyond the boundary. India's stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav tried to play down the occasion, declaring that the contest between the two sides "is no longer a duel" and citing the recent record as evidence. It was a remark bound to sting, and Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi wasted little time in issuing a warning of his own: "Let us reach the final first, then we'll see." The words matter as much as the cricket in this rivalry, and even before a ball is bowled, the tension has been wound tighter.

Inside the Pakistan camp, belief has been carefully nurtured. Head coach Mickey Arthur insisted that his players are proud to represent their country and confident of going all the way. Former stars have joined in from the sidelines, urging the side to seize the moment and "go and show India". Emotion is the currency Pakistan trade in, and it often gives them the edge when logic suggests otherwise.

India, in contrast, look comfortable in their dominance. They have won the last four T20 meetings between the sides, and their recent performances have shown a calm assurance that comes only from winning consistently. Their confidence lies in the cricket itself, not in the words before it. On paper, and in recent history, they are the stronger team. But this is a T20 final — a contest where three and a half hours of pressure can bend every calculation.

Beyond the tactics and the numbers lies something bigger. India and Pakistan do not play bilateral cricket anymore; they barely exchange handshakes. When they step onto the same ground it is an event that carries far more weight than sport alone. This final is the culmination of decades of anticipation, a collision that politics has often denied and cricket has repeatedly failed to deliver.

At last, the dream is real. Tomorrow night, Dubai will host not just a match but the fulfilment of a forty-one-year wait. India and Pakistan, neighbours divided by history yet united by cricket's fiercest rivalry, will finally contest the Asia Cup final.