India Defeat Pakistan To Become Asia Cup Champions
DUBAI: A composed half-century from Tilak Varma guided India to victory over Pakistan in the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a modest target of 147, the defending world champions were made to work hard and eventually sealed the win in 19.4 overs with five wickets down.
India’s reply began poorly as pacers Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Shah Afridi ripped through the top order. Abhishek Sharma (5), captain Suryakumar Yadav (1), and Shubman Gill (12) departed early, leaving India reeling at 20/3 after four overs.
From there, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson steadied the innings with a crucial 57-run partnership off 50 balls. Samson scored 24 from 21 deliveries, hitting two fours and a six, before Abrar Ahmed dismissed him in the 13th over.
Shivam Dube then joined Varma and the pair added a vital 60 runs for the fifth wicket. Dube contributed 33 off 22 balls, striking two fours and two sixes, before falling to Faheem in the 19th over.
Tilak Varma remained unbeaten, anchoring the chase with 69 off 53 balls, featuring four sixes and three boundaries.
Faheem Ashraf was the standout bowler for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 3/29 from four overs. Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed claimed a wicket each.
Earlier, India captain Suryakumar Yadav’s call to field first paid dividends as his bowlers staged a strong comeback to bowl Pakistan out for 146 in 19.1 overs.
Pakistan began aggressively through openers Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman, who raced to 84 inside ten overs. Varun Chakravarthy, the number-one ranked T20I bowler, broke the stand by dismissing Farhan in the 10th over, caught at deep mid-wicket.
Farhan top-scored with 57 off 38 deliveries, striking five fours and three sixes.
Saim Ayub added a brief 29-run stand with Fakhar before Kuldeep Yadav removed him in the 13th over. Ayub made 14 off 11 balls with two boundaries.
His wicket triggered a dramatic collapse, with Pakistan losing their last nine wickets for only 33 runs across 38 deliveries. Fakhar, who had looked set, was also dismissed during the slide. He scored 46 from 35 balls, hitting two sixes and two fours.
Kuldeep Yadav led the bowling for India with figures of 4/30 from four overs. Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah all chipped in with two wickets each.
