INDIA Vs PAKISTAN , FINAL ASIA CUP 2025 , DUBAI HIGHLIGHTS : India Thrashed Pakistan 3 Times to Claim Asia Cup Trophy 2025 .
In Asia Cup Final- 2025 , India defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in the Asia Cup 2025 final to lift their record record ninth title. The Indian cricket team was not given the trophy but did not collect it from Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi. The 46-year old, who is also president of the Pakistan Cricket Board, shared the podium alongside other officials during the presentation ceremony.
In a nerve-wracking low-scoring final, half-centurion Tilak Varma remained calm till the end as India secured their ninth title with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final of the 2025 edition. With this win, India have now beaten Pakistan thrice in the Asia Cup 2025- September 14 (Group Stage), September 21 (Super 4 Stage). In the final, India dismissed Pakistan for only 146 before they eventually achieved the target of 147 with two balls to spare. Tilak, in particular, was blazing guns with an unbeaten 43-ball 69 and all-rounder Shivam Dube chipped in with a whirlwind 33 off 22 balls during their game-changing fifth-wicket stand of 60-runs. Earlier, opted to bat, Pakistan openers Sahibzada Farhan (57 off 38 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (46 off 35 balls) provided their team with a solid start. But the Indian spin triumvirate of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel weaved a web as Pakistan wilted under crushing pressure. India Thrashed Pakistan 3 Times to Claim Asia Cup Trophy 2025 .
TOSS-
India won the toss and chose to field.
PLAYING XI-
India Squad:
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav,Jasprit Bumrah,Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan Squad:
Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi , Haris Rauf ,Abrar Ahmed
PAKISTAN-
Hardik Pandya was unavailable and India packed their batting by including Rinku Singh, which meant Shivam Dube had to share the new ball. He started well, giving away just four runs – from a Sahibzada Farhan boundary. But the opener appeared scratchy early in his innings, beaten several times by Jasprit Bumrah before finding a boundary. Dube’s next over leaked eight, as Fakhar Zaman got his first boundary, and Farhan opened up against Bumrah, pulling him for four and then launching him over long-off for six in a 13-run fourth over. Varun Chakaravarthy replied with a tight fifth, giving away just five, and Axar Patel kept the runs in check despite being hit for a four by Farhan in his over that went for eight. In the process, this made it certain that Pakistan won’t get away in the powerplay.
After a rather cautious powerplay, Farhan exploded against Kuldeep Yadav, pulling him for six in the seventh over. He brought up a 21-ball 50 with another four through midwicket off Axar, and Fakhar did even better, slog-sweeping Kuldeep for six. Farhan raised his 35-ball fifty with a pair against the left-arm wristspinner, who conceded 23 from his first two overs. Varun Chakaravarthy was also taken to the cleaners as Farhan sent one over long-on, but the spinner struck within his first two balls after taking a beating, having the half-centurion caught at midwicket, ending an 84-run stand in the 10th over. Saim Ayub was looking good too, smacking two boundaries off Dube and Fakhar also hit a clean stroke to the fence off Tilak Varma as Pakistan crossed 100 in the 12th over. Kuldeep was able to dismiss Ayub, who could not keep a cut down. The very next over Axar struck, accounting for Mohammad Haris, who departed without troubling the scorers trying to execute an inside-out drive. Fakhar momentarily released the pressure with a six off Varun, but the spinner outsmarted him by firing wide and having the left-hander slice to backward point.
Suryakumar Yadav protested for obstructing the field, but Salman Agha got away with the third umpire not finding him guilty. But in the same over, Axar dismissed Hussain Talat and Kuldeep Yadav then bowled a devastating spell to change the game. He would strike three times in as many deliveries too – Agha miscuing a hoick, Shaheen Afridi pinned, Faheem Ashraf held at long-off – to finish with a remarkable 4 for 7 from his last two overs. Jasprit Bumrah then mopped up the tail, taking out Haris Rauf — the wicket that he celebrated with a chainsaw motion – and Mohammad Nawaz before Pakistan were all out with five balls left.
INDIA-
Abhishek Sharma found the boundary against Shaheen Afridi but appeared uncomfortable throughout his brief stay, eventually falling to Faheem Ashraf’s slower delivery as he mistimed it straight to mid-on. Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form persisted when he was dismissed at long-off during Afridi’s spell, with Salman Agha taking an excellent catch that was verified as legitimate by the third umpire. Shubman Gill, who had escaped a run-out opportunity after Fakhar Zaman failed to hit the target, managed a boundary against Ashraf before departing in similar fashion, caught at mid-on to deepen India’s early struggles. Following the nervous beginning, India began to find their rhythm as Sanju Samson produced a graceful cover drive for four, while Tilak Varma punched Ashraf through the covers and followed up with a pick-up shot that sailed over the boundary. Nevertheless, Pakistan dominated the powerplay, limiting India to their lowest total during this phase in Asia Cup history.
Samson and Tilak chose a cautious strategy, working singles and capitalizing on loose deliveries. Samson benefited from good fortune when Hussain Talat dropped a straightforward chance at deep midwicket off Abrar’s bowling during a pull shot attempt. India reached 58/3 at the ten-over mark before the partnership began their fightback, each hitting maximums off Abrar and Saim Ayub to establish a fifty-run stand. Abrar ended their resistance shortly afterward, dismissing Samson at backward point as he tried to force a delivery that turned away, allowing just two runs from his over. Ayub maintained the pressure with an economical five-run over, and Tilak barely escaped a run-out as India felt the squeeze with the asking rate exceeding 10.5. Shivam Dube’s pair of boundaries plus Tilak’s six off Rauf yielded 17 runs in the 15th over, reducing the required rate to 9.4 entering the final five overs.
Dube launched the closing stages with a maximum off Abrar, while Tilak reached his half-century from 41 deliveries. Requiring 36 from 24 balls, the fifth-wicket partnership navigated Afridi’s concluding over with only six runs conceded. The 18th over proved fruitful for India as they accumulated 13 runs, featuring Dube’s six off Rauf’s final delivery that completed a fifty-run partnership. This left 17 needed from 12 balls as Faheem was introduced. Struggling with cramps, he eventually started his over and allowed singles from his opening three deliveries. Dube managed to pull the fourth delivery past deep midwicket for a boundary before Ashraf bowled a dot ball and removed Dube with the final delivery, caught at long-off. India required 10 from the last over, and Tilak collected two runs off Rauf’s opening ball. The following delivery disappeared for six as Tilak pulled it square. He took a single from the next ball to tie the scores, and Rinku Singh, facing his tournament debut delivery, sealed victory with a boundary over mid-on.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 146 in 19.1 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 57, Fakhar Zaman 46; Kuldeep Yadav 4-30, Axar Patel 2-26) lost to India 150/5 in 19.4 overs (Tilak Varma 69\*, Shivam Dube 33; Faheem Ashraf 3-29, Shaheen Afridi 1-20) by 5 wickets.