Dubai: World Champions India added the T20
Asia Cup crown to their kitty with a nerve-shredding five-wicket win over arch-rivals
Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday night, a finish as dramatic as the rivalry itself. Chasing 147 under lights, India looked in trouble early on, slipping to 20 for 3 inside the first four overs. But Tilak Varma stood tall amid the wreckage, crafting a nerveless 69 off 53 balls, an innings of steel and serenity, to guide India home with two balls to spare.
The crowd inside a packed Dubai International Stadium rode every twist and turn. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf set Pakistan on fire with early strikes, dismissing
Abhishek Sharma,
Suryakumar Yadav, and
Shubman Gill in quick succession. The celebrations were loud, the pressure stifling.
But Tilak, calm as ever, rebuilt the chase with
Sanju Samson, adding 57 priceless runs for the fourth wicket. Once Samson departed, Shivam Dube joined him to stitch together a crucial 60-run partnership that swung the match back in India’s favour.
Dube brought the chase alive in the 18th over, launching Haris Rauf’s full toss over cow corner and taking 13 runs off the over. Pakistan saw a glimmer of hope as Dube fell trying to clear long-off with 10 still needed off seven balls.
The final over was pure theatre. Tilak scampered a nervy double off the first ball and then, on the second delivery, delivered the knockout punch, picking Rauf’s hard length and muscling it over midwicket for a soaring six. The Indian dugout erupted. One ball later, he took a calm single, leaving Rinku Singh to finish the job with three balls still left, sealing the title and setting off wild celebrations.
Pakistan’s bowlers had threatened to make a match of their modest total. Faheem Ashraf used clever changes of pace to outfox Abhishek Sharma, whose mistimed shot found Haris Rauf. Soon after, Suryakumar Yadav scooped Shaheen to mid-off, where Salman Ali Agha flung himself forward to grab a sensational catch. Gill’s attempted heave through midwicket ended up in Rauf’s hands, briefly silencing the Indian fans.
But Tilak’s composure turned the tide. He picked his moments, took calculated risks, and never allowed the required rate to spiral out of reach. His last-over six off Rauf, the shot of the night, will be replayed in Indian households for a long time to come.
As the winning runs were struck, the stadium roared, and fans celebrated a victory that was equal parts grit and glory, another chapter in the storied rivalry between the neighbours.
Earlier, the Indian troika of spinners — Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel — left Pakistan’s batters in tatters, sharing eight wickets between them. Pakistan were cruising at 113 for 1 in the 12th over but then collapsed spectacularly, losing the next nine wickets for just 33 runs in 39 balls, to be bowled out for 146 in 19.1 overs. The meltdown, even by Pakistan’s well-established standards, was something special.
With India short on bowling reserves after all-rounder Hardik Pandya was ruled out due to a quadricep injury, the team management banked on their spin trio, and they delivered. The 12 overs they were expected to bowl proved decisive, with Chakravarthy, Kuldeep, and Axar scripting Pakistan’s dramatic downfall. There was appreciable turn on the surface, and Pakistan’s batters were at their wits’ end trying to cope.
Sahibzada Farhan took on Jasprit Bumrah to the cleaners. He and Fakhar Zaman added 84 for the first wicket. Kuldeep emerged as the star of the night, finishing with a superb 4 for 30 after conceding 24 runs in his first two overs.
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