Cricket: There’s a new Sharma in town! Abhishek shines again as India thump Bangladesh to reach Asia Cup 2025 final
Abhishek Sharma leads India to Asia Cup 2025 final
When Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20I cricket after leading India to the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, many would have expected it to be a while until the nation found an opener who could fill the former captain’s boots.
However, just over a year since his departure, it seems that the Men in Blue have found their star of the next generation in Abhishek Sharma, who has been nothing short of incredible in this year’s Asia Cup.
The 25-year-old, who only made his debut for the national team in July last year, has already stormed to the top of the ICC T20I batsman rankings, overtaking the likes of England duo Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, as well as Travis Head of Australia.
Sharma proved to be the difference-maker against Pakistan in his side’s first match of the Super 4s at the Asia Cup this year, and followed up with another stunning knock against Bangladesh on Wednesday, scoring 75 runs off just 37 deliveries.
Together with Shubman Gill, the pair gave India a solid start to their innings, posting a 77-run partnership for the first wicket, while Hardik Pandya’s 38 off 29 saw the side set a defendable total of 168 in their 20 overs.
Saif Hassan did his best to keep the Tigers in the contest and scored a very impressive 69 off 51 balls, but outside of his effort, only Parvez Hossain Emon managed to score in double digits. Bangladesh were bowled out 41 runs short of the target in the final over.
Afridi sends warning as potential third Ind-Pak contest looms
With that result, India have maintained their flawless record in this competition and have already secured their spot in the final. Their match against Sri Lanka on Friday is a dead rubber, with the Lions already eliminated from finals contention.
Sri Lanka’s hopes of reaching the final were dashed when they lost to Pakistan by five wickets on Tuesday. The Shaheens are set to face Bangladesh in the penultimate Super 4s match of the competition, in which the winner will meet India in the final on Sunday.
If the Green Shirts beat the Tigers, it will set up the third clash against their arch-rivals in the 2025 Asia Cup. They lost to the Men in Blue by seven wickets in Match 6 of the competition before suffering a six-wicket defeat to the champs last weekend.
Following their victory over Sri Lanka, Pakistan quick Shaheen Afridi sent out a clear message to India, revealing in an interview that his team will meet them in the final and intend to get their revenge by lifting the trophy. He said:
"They have still not reached the final, when they do, then we will see them. We are here to win the cup, whichever team comes in the final we are ready to beat them."
The final of the 2025 Asia Cup is scheduled for Sunday, September 28, at the Dubai International Stadium, so be sure to check out our cricket predictions for all the key insights ahead of the toss.
