Asia Cup 2025: Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma lead India to commanding victory over Pakistan in heated Super 4s clash
Pakistan deliver solid performance with the bat
The atmosphere inside the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday afternoon was set early when captains Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha opted not to shake hands at the toss of the Super 4s clash between Pakistan and India.
The Men in Blue had produced a commanding performance when the sides met in the group stage and were the clear favourites at the betting odds heading into the match. They lived up to expectations too, securing the victory by six wickets and with seven balls to spare.
It was far from a straightforward victory for the Blue Shirts, though, as Pakistan got off to a good start, with Sahibzada Farhan providing an impressive knock of 58 runs off just 45 deliveries at the top of the order to help lay a solid foundation.
The Shaeens lost wickets at regular intervals but kept the scoreboard ticking over and posted a defendable target of 171/5 in their 20 overs - the joint third-highest target set at the 2025 edition of the competition.
Tensions ramp up in India’s target chase
At the halfway point, Pakistan would likely have felt they were in a solid position, but Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill quickly swung the momentum back in favour of their side with an opening wicket partnership of 105/1.
Tensions began to build as early as the third over in the second innings when Gill went after the bowling of Shaheen Shah Afridi, and things continued to heat up with the introduction of Haris Rauf, who, in the ninth over, got right in the face of Sharma.
India stumbled after that coming-together, with Gill losing his wicket to Faheem Ashraf just four balls before he was followed back to the pavilion by his captain for a duck, while Abrar Ahmed got rid of Sharma another two overs later.
However, the much spoken of Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma got together in the 13th over and navigated their team to safety. Varma was the standout performer in the middle order, scoring 30 off 19 deliveries.
At the end of the game, both sides once again forewent the customary post-match handshakes, but the celebration of the Indian team said everything you needed to know about what the result meant. It also ramps up the heat even further with the possibility that these two could still meet in the final.
