DUBAI: India defeat Pakistan without ever really breaking a sweat! With 25 balls to spare, a small target of 128 is hauled down with captain Suryakumar Yadav scoring 47*, and Kuldeep Yadav starring with a three-fer. Easy business for India in this much-awaited match! Total domination from the men in blue from the very first over, and once the momentum was earned early on, they never let go. Pakistan wickets kept tumbling, in particular to Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, but the lack of partnerships meant India were never threatened. A late Shaheen Shah Afridi cameo pushed them to 127/9, but that was never going to be enough to hurt this Indian batting full of power-hitters. Abhishek Sharma set the tone with 31(13), and then a simple chase was guided home by Tilak Varma and a fine 47* from captain Suryakumar Yadav which guided the team home with 25 deliveries to spare.
India rocked Pakistan inside the first two overs, with Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya breathing fire early. Hardik dismissed Saim Ayub first ball of the match after beginning with a wide, before Bumrah struck to get rid of Mohammad Haris. Fakhar Zaman survived a close LBW call, with a review saving him. Just when Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan threatened to take the match away from India, in comes Axar Patel into the attack and removes the dangerous left-handed Zaman to send Pakistan 3 down. Fakhar and Farhan recovered the Pakistan innings, lifting them from 6/2 to finish the Powerplay at 42/2.
Pakistan were in shambles… and then some, losing wickets in a cluster. Kuldeep joined the party, picking up two wickets in two balls. He dropped a tough caught and bowled chance but made up for his error the very next ball, getting Hasan Nawaz. And the very next ball, he trapped Mohammad Nawaz out LBW, the review not saving him. Sahibzada Farhan held the innings together with a patient 40 off 44 balls, but with him perishing to become Kuldeep's third wicket, it was only a matter of time before India wrapped up the innings.
The Asia Cup Group A clash between India and Pakistan turned into a controversy. At the toss, India captain Suryakumar refused the customary handshake with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha. As soon as Ravi Shastri introduced the two skippers, Suryakumar chose not to extend his hand.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat against India in Match 6 of the Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium. Salman Ali Agha has stuck with the team that beat Oman, meaning Haris Rauf continues to sit out. Same for India, who are unchanged from their match against the UAE. Arshdeep Singh misses out again.
If you are a cricket fan, few fixtures deliver more thrills than the one slated for 14 September. The arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, square off in an epic clash that arrives amid a charged backdrop. Still, irrespective of the noise around it, this comes down to skill and execution on the night. In this preview, we break down the game through a few key lenses.