In a thrilling Asia Cup final at Dubai International Stadium, India’s Tilak Varma stepped up with an unbeaten 69 to steer his team to a five-wicket win over rivals Pakistan, securing the trophy for the ninth time on Sunday.
Pakistan started strong, racing to 113 for one, but their innings crumbled dramatically. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav led India’s fightback, grabbing four wickets—including three in a devastating 17th over—to spark a collapse. Pakistan lost their last nine wickets for just 33 runs, folding at 146 all out in 19.1 overs. The spin trio of Kuldeep, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakaravarthy tore through the batting lineup, sharing eight wickets as Pakistan’s aggressive shots backfired. Kuldeep shifted gears dramatically, going from conceding 23 runs in his first two overs to just seven in his next two while picking up those key scalps. Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube chipped in with two wickets each.
India’s chase got off to a shaky start, slumping to 20 for three. Openers Abhishek Sharma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav fell early to slower balls from Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Shubman Gill joined the party by miscuing a pull shot, leaving Tilak Varma to rebuild with Sanju Samson.
Varma played with cool heads and sharp timing, hitting three fours and four sixes in a pressure-packed knock. He first put on 57 runs with Samson, who scored 24 before slicing a lofted shot to backward point. Then Varma added 60 with Dube (33), keeping India in the hunt despite a tense moment when a mix-up nearly ran him out.
With the required rate climbing to 10 an over, Varma smashed a slog-sweep for six off Abrar Ahmed to ease the nerves. Dube hammered a six and a four, and Varma reached his fifty off 41 balls. Even after Dube holed out, Varma kept going with a massive six off Haris Rauf. Rinku Singh sealed the victory with a boundary over mid-on, finishing the chase at 150 for five with two balls left. India ended the tournament unbeaten, just like when they won here in 2018.
Earlier, Pakistan’s openers Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman attacked from the start, grabbing three boundaries in the powerplay to reach 45 without loss. Farhan smashed 57, including a fifty off 35 balls, with fours and sixes off Bumrah, Kuldeep, and Axar. But Chakaravarthy broke through by having him caught at deep mid-wicket, ending an 84-run stand.
Things unraveled quickly after that. Saim Ayub added quick boundaries but sliced to backward point off Kuldeep. Mohammad Haris chipped to mid-off against Axar, and Zaman fell trying one big shot too many off Chakaravarthy. Sanju Samson took sharp catches to dismiss Hussain Talat and Salman Agha, while Kuldeep trapped Shaheen lbw and forced Faheem to hole out. Bumrah wrapped it up by castling Haris Rauf and catching Mohammad Nawaz at deep mid-wicket.
Pakistan’s bowlers fought hard—Faheem took three for 29, and Shaheen one for 20—but it wasn’t enough to stop Varma’s masterclass in the high-stakes India-Pakistan clash.
Brief scores: Pakistan 146 in 19.1 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 57, Fakhar Zaman 46; Kuldeep Yadav 4-30, Jasprit Bumrah 2-25). India 150/5 in 19.4 overs (Tilak Varma 69 not out, Shivam Dube 33; Faheem Ashraf 3-29, Shaheen Shah Afridi 1-20).
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