Both teams, who have a number of young Turks in their ranks, are brimming with confidence ahead of the eagerly-awaited title clash which is set to get the attention of hockey fans not just in the sub-continent but around the hockey-playing world.

The two rivals take a lot of positives going into Sunday’s finale of the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy.

Pakistan, the reigning Asian Games champions, finished the round-robin at the top of the table but the Indians emerged as the only unbeaten team during that stage.

Muhammad Imran, the Pakistan captain admitted that he and his players were feeling the heat as they get ready for the final. “There is always a lot of pressure on you when there is a match against India because everybody at home wants you to win it,” said the young defender.

“That’s the case with them (Indians) too. But the problem is that only one team can win the final. We will be going all out to win the title tomorrow and will be playing aggressive and attacking hockey to achieve that goal,” he stressed.

Pakistan have shown a lot of problems in their deep defence during the course of this tournament during which they lost against lower-rated Japan (1-3) but Imran promised that things will be different in the final.

“We have learnt from our mistakes. The boys know that now it’s the final and there is no room for errors. I’m sure we will put up a much better show in it.”

Rajpal Singh, Imran’s Indian counterpart, exuded confidence ahead of the final. “Our team will go into the final without having lost a match and that’s a huge confidence booster,” said Rajpal.

“I’m sure that by playing our natural attacking game we can win tomorrow,” added Rajpal, one of the most experienced players in the Indian squad.

Michael Nobbs, India’s Australian coach, echoed his captain’s views.

“Not many gave us much chance of reaching the final but this young team has done really well,” said Nobbs.

"My boys have handled pressure like pros. They needed an incentive and now the team has got it by making it to the final. Whatever the result, we will throw everything into tomorrow’s match," he stressed.

Nobbs optimism springs from the fact that India, who began their title campaign with a huge 5-0 triumph over China, are the most prolific team in the event with a healthy goal difference of plus 7.

Pakistan, in contrast, have time and again shown their inability to convert scoring chances.

But Khawaja Junaid, Pakistan’s manager, was upbeat about his team’s chances of winning the final.

“We will take the field against India with a totally different strategy tomorrow,” said the former Olympian. “The boys are fully aware that they will have to take complete responsibility.”

The good news for the two teams is that after several days of cold and windy weather, the sun is out in the Inner Mongolian city of Ordos. According to weather forecasts, it will be pretty sunny on Sunday when the Asian giants will meet in the final at 6.00 pm local time.