@Abhishek sharma playing shots during his 75-run innings vs Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2025
On 24 September 2025, India won a decisive 41-run match against Bangladesh at the Super Fours stage of the Asia Cup thus securing their spot in the final.
Match Context & Toss:
The Asia Cup 2025, which will be hosted in the United Arab Emirates, is a heavy burden, as the continental tournament will invite the best teams of Asia to compete in a T20I format against each other.
India and Bangladesh collided in the Super Fours round in Dubai in a match that would go a long way to determine who will join India into the final.
Their regular captain Litton Das was out with an injury giving Bangladesh captain Jaker Ali a stand-in skipper.
Ali Won the toss and choose to Bat first
In earlier games, the pursuit had been a successful strategy but India usually likes to establish a target then allowing their bowlers to take charge. Bangladesh was put under early pressure as a result of this decision.
India' Innings: Strong Start, Subsequently a Jolt
The innings of India was constructed with a scorching opening. The night was opened by Opener Abhishek Sharma who started off with a 37-ball 75 that exhibited unemotional stroke play and a blitz of boundaries.
He and Shubman Gill with 29 each, put together a quick opening 77 run stand in some 6.2 overs.
It was an explosive beginning that made it seem like India might get above 200, but the impetus died after that.
Once Abhishek is fired off (through a mix-up run out), India started losing regular wickets during the middle overs.
Hardik Pandya (38 off 29 balls) made some efforts of stabilizing the situation, however, nobody supported him.
India made a total of 168 off 6 in 20 overs.
On a good batting ground, 168 is by no means a huge score, but on a Dubai pitch that was somewhat spin-friendly and when faced with the pressure of a knockout match it was justifiable.
Bangladesh Chase: Lone Fight and spin onslaught attack
The pursuit in Bangladesh did not start very well. It placed them in the back seat because of losing Tanzid Hasan early.
The strength of the innings was the battling effort of Saif Hassan to record 69 out of the 51 balls.
But his opposition did not have sufficient grounding.
The screws were wound by the Indian turners, particularly Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep created an excellent 3-18 to shake the lower order of Bangladesh.In the meantime Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy contributed two wickets each. Bangladesh were finally bowled out at 127 in 19.3 overs.
Besides their success in bowling, India also had their share of fielding failure, five dropped in the match by the hosts, some falling on the bat of Saif and this enabled Bangladesh to last longer than they would have done without.
Nevertheless, India remained calm during the last overs, and eventually it was a 41 run victory, which was not as overwhelming as it would have been but was persuasive in the situation.
Key Performers & Turning points:
- Abhishek Sharma: There is no doubt that he is the maestro of the match. His 75 out of 37 balls was the boost India was receiving.
- Kuldeep Yadav: The turning point came with his spin spell (3 /18) particularly when the tail of Bangladesh was trying to drive towards the mark
- Hardik Pandya: He is not so flashy, but at least 38 brought some stability in the middle-overs wobble.
- Saif Hassan: The solitary flint in Bangladesh. His 69 had been a hard-fought fight but it was not enough.
- Bowling support: The role of Bowling soothed the spin attack and India was in control.
The catches that were dropped would have altered the face of the match had Bangladesh been able to put the catches in, but the Indian bowlers exerted force all through to eliminate any form of collapse.
Implications & Aftermath:
This victory saw India not lose a single match in the tournament and this ensured their place in the final
Sri Lanka who were still contending were eliminated out of the final-race aspirations.
The road ahead of Bangladesh became thorny: now they have to win their match against Pakistan in order to remain in the game.
To India, the win demonstrated that despite a crazy start to their batting and a rough finish, their bowling and dimension should have their back.
But there were still some worrying points. Fielding, especially the drop-fests, in India was denounced by the media as an embarrassment.
The failure of their middle order to accelerate or stabilize faster than the top order is also a question mark going into the last.
The Story of the Game (Narrative)
Toss and Decision: Bangladesh started first thus putting pressure on India to post a target.
Blazing Start: Abhishek and Gill started off the powerplay with a fast opening move.
Middle-Order Slump: India lost interest after first stand; overall amounted to little.
Resistance by Saif: The resistance of Bangladesh greatly depended on the other batters did not assist.
Spin Dominance: Kuldeep was excellent and his backups were the clinchers
Victory and Qualification: India was victorious by 41 runs, and made their ticket to the final.
Strategic/Tactical Takeaways:
- Top-order aggression has been the specialty of India. When they are able to start on a good footing, they make the opposition back.
- The big one is spin attack depth. Kuldeep has a spin on the wrist supported by Chakravarthy variations which provides India an incisive middle phase weapon
- The fielding discipline was required: Dropped chances may plague a team, particularly in a close game or one with a narrow margin.
- Middle order awareness: This is necessary after being struck fast and then accelerate by striking with the ability to rotate. The middle-order performance of India is patchy, and repeated and manageable up to date.
Conclusion:
The Indian 41 run win on 24 September 2025, will not be remembered as much because of the margin as much as by its timing and its context. The pressure is intensified in a Super Fours knock-on match, and India managed to cope with it more in general. There were flashes of brilliance in the way they batted, their spin attack came at the right time, and although they lapsed in the field, they closed the door.
The Bangladesh, in its turn, could not turn their instances of resistance into a full-fledged pursuit. It was a good battle fought by Saif Hassan, but cricket is a team game - and this time the rest of the batting line could not all stand together.
Brief Scores: India 168/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 75, Hardik Pandya 38; Rishad Hossain 2-27) beat Bangladesh 127 all-out in 19.3 overs (Saif Hassan 69, Parvez Hossain Emon 21; Kuldeep Yadav 3-18, Jasprit Bumrah 2-18) by 41 runs.