@Tilak Varma celebrates after hitting the match-winning shot vs Pakistan in Asia Cup Final 2025
India vs Pakistan - Asia Cup final, 28 September 2025:
On 28 September 2025, a scheduled high-page politics-filled Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan took place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was the first time when the two competitors had reached an Asian Cup final since the beginning of the tournament. India managed to pursue a low goal and achieve it by 5 wickets, keeping their Asia Cup title and gaining their ninth victory in the history of the competition.
Match Context & Build-up:
In 2025, Asia Cup (men) was hosted in the UAE and was run between 9 and 28 September, in a T20 international format.
As defending champions (since 2023), India was in a great form through the tournament.
Pakistan was no exception as it had done a great job to reach the final. The India-Pakistan rivalry is never viewed without monumental spectator, media, and political pressure and this was not an exception of that.
Toss, Innings & Key Phases:
Pakistan Innings:
- Pakistan batted first. They made a competitive but not invincible total of 146 all out in 19.1 overs.
- Their innings started on a positive note with the opener, Sahibzada Farhan making 57 runs off 38 balls and Fakhar Zaman 46 runs off 35 balls
- But after the strong start Pakistan' top and middle order failed miserably after the good beginning. They lost 9 wickets on 33 runs only in 39 deliveries and all that they had achieved had been undone
- Indian bowlers have taken advantage of this failure. The outstanding one was Kuldeep Yadav who took 4 wickets for 30 runs (4 overs).
- Other Indian bowlers also contributed: Jasprit Bumrah 2/25, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel made their share in the collapse.
- India' started disastrously. they lost three of their top batters cheaply
- tournament top run-getter Abhishek Sharma who was fired early on 5.
- Shubman Gill fell soon after ,caught early
- Captain Suryakumar Yadav lasted just one run in the powerplay dismissed by shaheen afridi
- at this point india were reeling at 20/3 early in the powerplay
- Even in the fall, Tilak Varma entered the scene and balanced the innings. He was in superlative control and at ease knocking, completing 69 not out with 53 balls (4 fours, 3 sixes).
- Shivam Dube was a supporting character in an essential partnership with Varma .60 off 40 balls Sanju Samson, too, had a contribution of 24 out of 21, after which he fell.
- Having only 10 runs required in the last over, Varma hit a six on the first ball of the one played by Haris Rauf which brought India very close.
- The winning hits were eventually produced by Rinku Singh, who had only one ball to hit in the tournament, and this got him the win with two balls to spare.
- Tilak Varma was justly awarded the title of Man of the Match as his unbeaten knock saved India in meltdown.
- The key founder of the collapse of Pakistan was Kuldeep Yadav with 4 decisive wickets.
- The Player of the Series was Abhishek Sharma who had the highest number of runs (314) in the tournament.
- Another player who took the lead in wicket-taking in the tournament was Kuldeep Yadav who had 17 wickets.
- The bowlers of India held the screws tight, and one of the turning points was the failure of the middle lower order of Pakistan that followed 113 to 1. India was just holding on with the aid of felding lapses and Varma showed his coolness when it came down to it.
- Although the game was an exciting one, the controversy of the game after it was the most fascinating. The ceremony of trophy presentation became a flash-mob.
- India even declined to receive the trophy and medals that were presented by Mohsin Naqvi, who is ACC Chairman, as well as the Interior Minister / PCB Chairman of Pakistan
- The presentation transpired later than an hour and was cut.
- Later Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said that the trophy had been refused to the team, alleging Naqvi had stolen it.
- Indian players imitated picking a trophy that was not there as a symbol gesture.
- This event consolidated the politicisation of a pre-existing India-Pakistan enmity.
- 9th Asia Cup title for India: India was the victor of this Asia Cup and in the process, they had won the title.
- First India-Pakistan Asia cup Final: The final was historical in itself.
- The game reinstated the supremacy of India over Pakistan in this tournament (India dominated in all the three matches in this version).
- Out of the field, the trophy row can create additional conflicts in the cricketing governance environment, and potential BCCI complaints towards ICC regarding the presentation.