In a dramatic and riveting final of the DP World Asia Cup 2025, India overcame Pakistan by five wickets at the Dubai International Stadium, winning yet another continental trophy.
The Men in Blue won the toss and elected to bowl under lights, with Shivam Dube starting well. Pakistani openers Sahibzada Farhan (57) and Fakhar Zaman (46) made a great start, however Varun Chakaravarthy broke the partnership in the 10th over. From there, India seized control, with Kuldeep Yadav taking four wickets and Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, and Chakaravarthy providing support. Pakistan faltered after the opening stand, scoring a low total with only Saim Ayub (14) hitting double digits outside the top two.
Chasing 147 on a tricky target on a slow pitch, India’s innings got off to a shaky start. Abhishek Sharma, the tournament’s top performance, was dismissed cheaply in the second over, followed by Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill. At 20/3 in just four overs, the pressure was intense. Enter Sanju Samson (24) and Tilak Varma, who plunged in to help stabilise the ship. The pair put up an important 50-run stand that propelled India back into the game. Following Samson’s departure, Shivam Dube (33) maintained the momentum, extending the partnership with Tilak for another half-century. On a pitch where timing and strokeplay were difficult, both batsmen rotated the strike intelligently, occasionally breaking away with well-placed boundaries. As the chase narrowed, Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 kept the innings together. With 10 runs needed from the final over, Tilak struck a pressure-relieving six off Haris Rauf, while Rinku Singh clinched the victory by scoring the winning run.
The opening pair, Sahibzada Farhan (57) and Fakhar Zaman (46), was the only silver lining of Pakistan’s batting show. Saim Ayub (14) was the next batter to get to double digits.
While bowling first, Kuldeep Yadav got four wickets, while two wickets each were also taken by Bumrah, Chakaravarthy and Axar.
For Pakistan with the ball, Faheem Ashraf was the lone hunter with three wickets, while one each was taken by Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed.
With this win, India have clinched their ninth Asia Cup title.
Scorecard:
Pakistan: 146/10, Overs 19.1, Sahibzada Farhan 57, Kuldeep Yadav 4/30
India: 150/5, Overs 19.4, Tilak Varma 69*, Faheem Ashraf 3/29
