Momentum the key: Sarfraz

Pakistan will open their Asia Cup campaign on the second day of the tournament against Hong Kong. They are taking the match against the minnows as an opportunity to gain momentum which can be carried into tougher contests. That's the key to success for them. Pakistan's Champions Trophy triumph last year taught them the significance of carrying momentum in multi-team tournaments.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed spoke about it at the end of his side's week-long training camp in Lahore on Monday. "Momentum is very important," he said. "During the Champions Trophy, we carried forward the momentum which we had gotten against South Africa and Sri Lanka. We will try to do the same here... We will try to gain momentum in our first match [against Hong Kong] and go into the contest against India with full preparation."

Three days after their tournament opener, Pakistan will be up against their arch-rivals India. Due to the dearth of Indo-Pak matches these days, it is the most-anticipated contest.

"Every match against India is important," he said. "That match [Champions Trophy final] is in the past. It was almost one and a half years ago. So, I don't think we should consider it that much. If we play India in the final, then we will be playing them thrice. All professional teams put the past behind and look forward. Both teams will do the same."