India wins Asia Cup 2025; defeats Pakistan by 5 wickets in the final
India defeated Pakistan to win the Asia Cup 2025. The Indian team won the T20 format Asia Cup in 2025 after winning the ODI format in 2023. Tilak Varma performed brilliantly for India, staying until the end to lead the team to a 9th title triumph in the multi nation tournament. India won the toss and elected to bowl first. India, aided by Kuldeep Yadav’s superb bowling, bundled out Pakistan for 146 runs in 19.1 overs. Chasing the target, Tilak scored an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls, including three fours and four sixes, helping India reach 150 for five in 19.4 overs.
Early setbacks for team India
India’s chase was jolted by fall of early wickets, losing three wickets in the powerplay. Three Indian batsmen—Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and captain Suryakumar Yadav—were dismissed for a total of 20 runs, leaving the Indian team in trouble. Abhishek’s bat roared throughout the tournament, but he was dismissed for five runs in this match. Suryakumar Yadav then failed again, scoring one. Before India could recover from these two setbacks, Faheem Ashraf dismissed Shubman Gill, disrupting India’s innings.
Tilak anchors the chase with Samson
After the initial setbacks, Tilak, along with Sanju Samson, steadied India’s innings. Both batsmen played steadily. Samson, however, received a reprieve during this period. Samson couldn’t fully capitalize on this, but he and Tilak shared a 57-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Samson, attempting a big shot, lost his wicket and was dismissed for 24. Samson may not have been able to play a big innings, but he supported Tilak, which proved crucial for India.
Dubey’s impactful innings
India had lost four wickets at 77, and Shivam Dubey came in to support Tilak. A misunderstanding between Dubey and Tilak almost led to Tilak being run out. After that, both responsibly steered the innings forward. Dubey displayed his aggressive nature, hitting boundaries to keep the pressure from rising against the required run rate. Meanwhile, Tilak completed his half-century. With India needing 10 runs from seven balls, Shivam Dubey played a big shot off Faheem Ashraf, but was caught by Shaheen Afridi on the edge of the boundary. Dubey finished with 33 runs off 22 balls, including two fours and two sixes.
Rinku Hits the Winning Four
Rinku Singh hit the winning four for India. The Indian dressing room and the spectators on the field erupted in joy as Rinku hit the four. Even head coach Gautam Gambhir couldn’t contain his excitement. This was India’s third consecutive win over Pakistan in this tournament and the Suryakumar Yadav-led team has thus achieved a hat-trick of wins against Pakistan.
