DUBAI: Tilak Verma’s crafty knock and Kuldeep Yadav’s magic with the ball helped India seal victory against Pakistan in a last-over thriller in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 final here on Sunday.
Set 147, India chased down the target on the fourth ball of the last over, losing five wickets in the process.
Pakistan pacers ripped through India’s top order as Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Afridi combined to rattle the defending champions.
Dangerous Abhishek Sharma was the first to go holing out to mid on, whereas Skipper Suryakumar Yadav, in poor form, perished courtesy of an excellent catch from Salman Ali Agha.
The Men in Blue were pegged back with Shubman Gill’s wicket, who was caught on mid-on after scoring 12. As a result, India were reduced to 20-3.
However, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma arrested the slide and batted with calm and composure. The pair added 58 runs for the third wicket, which put India back on course in the chase.
Varma particularly nudged the balls for a single and eased pressure. Samson, on the other hand, was looking good. He got a reprieve in the ninth over as Hussain Talat dropped a sitter.
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Yet, he departed after making 24 from 21 balls with the help of two fours and a six. At this stage, India were 77-4 in 12.4 overs.
The game was evenly poised at this stage, with India requiring 69 from 42 balls. However, Tilak Varma’s presence at the crease and some sloppy fielding and tactical errors from Pakistan put India on top.
Haris Rauf’s 17 yielded 17 runs from the 15th over, which tilted the game in India’s favor.
Eventually, India aced the chase with Rinku Singh— playing his first game of the tournament, hitting the ball over mid wicket for four to seal an emphatic win for his side.
For Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf picked up three wickets.
Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman provided a strong start, but the innings unraveled once again as a familiar middle-order collapse led to Pakistan’s innings being folded for a modest total.
Put into bat first, Pakistan could not capitalize on a strong start as their innings folded on a mere 146-run total in 19.1 overs.
Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman started strong with an 84-run stand. The duo batted cautiously and ended the powerplay on a strong note with Pakistan 45-0.
Sahizbada remained the core aggressor and reached his half-century off 35 balls while Fakhar played the second fiddle.
The partnership eventually culminated with Farhan’s wicket, who made 57 from 38 balls, striking three sixes and five fours.
Yet, Pakistan were in a strong position to score a strong total with Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman adding 29 runs to the total. However, the former wicket on the fifth ball sparked a collapse that the Green Shirts could not recover from.
Saim perished to Kuldeep, managing 14 from 10, whereas Axar Patel ended Mohammad Haris ‘ two-ball stay at the crease. The wicket-keeper could not open his account.
In the next over, Fakhar tried to charge after hitting Varun Chakravarthy for a six and ended up losing his wicket. The soutpaw scored 46 from 35 with the aid of two sixes and two fours.
As a result, Pakistan slumped to 126-4. The situation was still manageable for Pakistan to post a good score with skipper Salman Ali Agha ( 8) and Hussain Talat (1) at the crease. However, Kuldeep Yadav picked three wickets in an over, which bundled them out for a modest total.
For India, Kuldeep Yadav picked up a four-wicket haul, whereas Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakravarthy picked up two wickets each.
READ: Asia Cup Final: Former England cricketer warns India of ‘unpredictable’ Pakistan
