Dubai-India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 147, India reached the mark in the final over, finishing at 148 for five. Tilak Varma played a match-winning knock, scoring 69 runs to steer his side to victory and secure the coveted title against their arch-rivals.
India won the toss against Pakistan and opted to field first. Pakistan’s innings folded for 146 runs in 19.1 overs. In reply, India successfully chased the target in the last over, losing five wickets.
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Sahibzada Farhan was the first to fall after scoring a solid 57 off 38 balls, caught off Varun at a total of 84. Saim Ayub followed, making 14 before Kuldeep struck at 113.
After that, Pakistan’s batting collapsed, losing eight wickets for just 33 runs. Mohammad Haris went for a duck, while Fakhar Zaman made 46 off 35 before being caught off Varun at 126. Hussain Talat fell for 1 at 131, Salman Agha managed 8, and both Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf departed without scoring. Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz added only 6 runs each.
Kuldeep Yadav took 4 wickets, while Bumrah, Varun, and Axar Patel grabbed 2 each.
India faced early trouble as Abhishek Sharma fell for 5 to Faheem in the second over. Captain Suryakumar Yadav followed for just 1 off Shaheen at 10. Shubman Gill scored 12 before falling to Faheem at 20.
Sanju Samson added 24 before Abrar dismissed him at 77. Shivam Dube made 33 before Faheem claimed his third wicket at 137.
Tilak Varma anchored the chase with a match-winning unbeaten 69, guiding India to victory.
For Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf claimed 3 wickets, while Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed took one each. Pakistan made no changes to their squad, while India replaced the injured Hardik Pandya with Rinku Singh.
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Pakistan secured their spot in the final after edging out Bangladesh by 11 runs in a gripping contest.
India, on the other hand, clinched qualification in dramatic fashion. In the Super Four stage, their final clash with Sri Lanka ended in a thrilling tie after both sides fought fiercely. Sri Lanka, chasing 203, finished on 202 thanks to a dazzling 107 from Pathum Nissanka. The deadlock led to a Super Over, where India swiftly chased down the modest three-run target on the very first ball, securing their ticket to Dubai’s grand finale.
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