India beat Pakistan for the third consecutive time in the tournament.
Dubai is blue! India have clinched their ninth Asia Cup title. All roads led to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as India and Pakistan locked horns in the Final of the Asia Cup 2025. The pitch at this venue usually gets better to bat on as the game progresses. But this was something different. The pitch slowed down as the game went on, giving us a nail-biter.
Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman got Pakistan off to a steady start. The Shaheens were 113/1 at one point. But they lost wickets in a heap to be dismissed for 146. Kuldeep Yadav starred with the ball, bowling a spell of 4/30 in his quota.
The Pakistanis got rid of Abhishek Sharma early and had the Indians rattled at 20/3 with the top three back in the hut. However, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson stitched a glorious partnership to take India to the brink of victory. India clinched the Final by five wickets, and here are some of the major talking points from the clash.
Hardik Pandya did not feature in the Indian XI for the Final because he had a niggle. The Men in Blue surely lost his services with the bat, but bowling was his domain in this tournament. With him out, Suryakumar Yadav gave the opening over to Shivam Dube, which was an unorthodox call. It could have gone either way, but went in India’s favour.
Barring Abhishek, India were reduced to five bowling options. Varma pitched in with a solitary over of his off-break, conceding nine runs. And this is why it was important to get Dube’s overs out, which the Indians did. Pakistan might have missed a trick by not taking him on at the start.
In another move from the Indian skipper, he brought on Axar Patel to bowl just after Mohammad Haris came out at No.4. Stats suggest that the right-hander has not enjoyed facing left-arm spinners. Haris has been dismissed six times out of nine innings to left-arm spinners, and Axar got the job done. The Blues seemed to have done their homework.
The Men in Blue had got off to a fiery start in every single game in the campaign. In every match, their power play exceeded 60. But on this occasion, all they could manage was a modest 36/3. The Pakistanis put the top-order under tremendous pressure to send all the top three in the batting order packing.
Abhishek never looked like the kind of batter he has been in his previous six innings. From the first ball, he was out of shape and couldn’t time his shots perfectly. Having said that, skipper Suryakumar has not been anywhere close to his best in the campaign. His ability to play proactive cricket, rather than reactive cricket, is what sets him apart.
It seemed as if the Indians were in a hurry to get things done. Even after losing Abhishek early, they continued to put their foot on the pedal and kept losing wickets. What Faheem Ashraf did wonderfully well was that he utilised his slower deliveries to the utmost perfection. Both Surya and Shubman Gill were dismissed to slower deliveries.
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The Mumbai Indians (MI) batter walked in to bat with the score at 10/2. The Pakistani bowlers were breathing fire and were at the top of their game. With wickets tumbling all around, Varma provided India with exactly what they needed at that stage.
Keeping a calm mind, the 22-year-old stitched a gritty 57-run partnership with Sanju Samson to steady India’s ship. To add to that, the duo kept picking singles and ensured that the scoreboard kept ticking. This was one of the most important phases in the game, and they mastered it well.
One thing which separates Varma from many others is his presence of mind. He has showcased the ability to play the situation on multiple occasions, and that was exactly what he did. Come the T20 World Cup in 2026, Tilak should be one of the favourites to start for India at No.3 or 4. His crucial 53-ball 69* and the winning runs of Rinku Singh’s bat propelled India to win the Asia Cup 2025 title!
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