India crushed Bangladesh by 41 runs in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 semi-final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, storming into the final thanks to stellar bowling from Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy.
The win knocks Sri Lanka out of the tournament. Now, Pakistan faces Bangladesh in a do-or-die clash on Thursday to grab the second final spot.
Bangladesh crumbled to 127 all out in 19.3 overs while chasing 169. Opener Saif Hassan fought hard with 69 runs, but he got three lifelines—dropped twice in one over from Varun Chakravarthy and once more by Axar Patel in the 40s, plus a tough chance shelled by Sanju Samson off Shivam Dube’s call at deep square leg.
Parvez Hossain Emon added 21, and the pair stitched a 42-run stand for the second wicket. But after that, Bangladesh’s batters struggled against India’s spinners. Kuldeep Yadav grabbed 3-18, Chakravarthy took 2-29 to dismiss half the side, and Jasprit Bumrah bounced back from his last game with 2-18 in four tight overs.
Earlier, India batted first after Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Jaker Ali won the toss. Abhishek Sharma lit up the innings with a explosive 75 off 37 balls, smashing boundaries and sixes to power India to 168/6 in 20 overs.
Abhishek’s knock gave India a blistering start and broke records along the way. He surpassed mentor Yuvraj Singh for the most T20I innings by an Indian with five or more sixes—now at six such efforts, trailing only Rohit Sharma (13) and Suryakumar Yadav (9). Plus, his 17 sixes set a new Asia Cup record for a single tournament across formats.
India’s openers, Abhishek and Shubman Gill, raced to 72 without loss in the powerplay’s six overs. Gill fell for 29 off 19 soon after, caught by Rishad Hossain. India then sent Shivam Dube at No. 3 to tackle the spinners, but he managed just 2.
Suryakumar Yadav joined Abhishek for a quick 29-run partnership off 13 balls. But Rishad’s sharp fielding ran out Abhishek for 75, shifting the momentum. Suryakumar scored 5 off 11, Tilak Varma added 5, and Hardik Pandya steadied the ship with 38. Axar Patel ended 10 not out off 15, but India managed only 70 runs in the last 10 overs.
Rishad Hossain shone for Bangladesh with 2-27 and that crucial run-out, while Tanzim Hasan Sakib took 1-29.
Brief scores: India 168/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 75, Hardik Pandya 38; Rishad Hossain 2-27, Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-29) beat Bangladesh 127 all out in 19.3 overs (Saif Hassan 69, Parvez Hossain Emon 21; Kuldeep Yadav 3-18, Varun Chakravarthy 2-29) by 41 runs.
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