Dubai [UAE], September 29 (ANI): As India clinched the ninth Asia Cup title after defeating Pakistan in the final of the 2025 edition on Sunday, Men in Blue T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav lauded his team’s performance in the tournament, defeating their arch-rivals thrice in a singular tournament for the first time in the history of the sport.
On three consecutive weekends, India trounced Pakistan as many times and walked away with the title with a five-wicket win in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday. Firstly, in the group stage (by seven wickets), then in the Super 4s encounter (by six wickets) and lastly in the final of the competition (by five wickets).
While speaking to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz, Suryakumar said, “Yeah, winning 3-0 was excellent. Incredible show from the boys. They delivered what I expected from them. All the talks that we have had with them – right here in this team room that we are sitting in – have all worked, and I’m very happy. Never played them three times in a single tournament. It was destined to happen.”
Sharing his views on the rivalry between India and Pakistan across all competitions, the right-hand batter said, “Talking about it again and again will degrade its real essence. But yes, during the course of the tournament, I think we played good cricket, handled the pressure situations better with the bat and the ball. That’s why we won it. I think it spoke volumes. Our main focus was to win matches and play good cricket. It doesn’t really matter if the trophy came or not. What matters is that my country is happy and we are celebrating. We have billboards in our name that we are the Asia Cup champions. What more do you need?”
In the Asia Cup 2025 final, the Suryakumar-led side reduced the Men in Green from 113-1 to 146 all out. India’s ball-tweaking troika, Axar Patel (2-26), Varun Chakravarthy (2-30) and Kuldeep Yadav (4-30), wreaked havoc on Dubai’s slow-paced strip against Pakistan in the final and combined to scalp eight wickets to wrap up the Men in Green’s innings on 146.
Varun set the tone by breaking the 84-run opening stand by dismissing the threatening Sahibzada Farhan on 57(38). Axar Patel capitalised in the middle while Kuldeep broke Pakistan’s backbone by tearing through their power-hitters.
Speaking on the team’s brilliant bowling performance in the final, the 35-year-old cricketer said, “I personally believe that batsmen score runs and win matches, but bowlers win tournaments. So I told them that “you guys have been in this situation before – be it for franchise, for nation or for your state – so you all know how pull a match towards yourself with good bowling, good energy, body language and staying calm”. Because staying calm and relaxed is the only thing that makes you perform well under pressure. And the last six to eight overs that Shivam (Dube), Kuldeep (Yadav), Varun(Chakaravarthy) and Tilak (Varma) bowled changed the course of the game. The batting hiccups were absorbed by Sanju (Samson), Tilak (Varma), and Rinku (Singh) in the second half. The stage I am at right now in T20, I feel it’s very important to make and prepare good players.”
Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to field first. An 84-run stand between Sahidzada Farhan (57 in 38 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Fakhar Zaman (46 in 35 balls, with two fours and two sixes) gave Pakistan the headstart they needed.
However, thanks to the magic of spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4/30) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/30) in the middle overs, Pakistan faced a collapse from 113/1 in 12.4 overs to 146 all out in 19.1 overs, with Bumrah (2/25) also getting the final two wickets.
During the run-chase, India sank to 20/3 due to an initial burst from Faheem Ashraf. However, Tilak Varma (69* in 53 balls, with three fours and four sixes), stitched a 57-run stand with Sanju Samson (24 in 21 balls, with two fours and a six) to bring India back into the game.
Shivam Dube (33 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes) delivered some carnage with Tilak, solidifying India’s hold on the game despite some occasional brilliance from Pakistan. In the end, it was Rinku Singh, who was featuring in his first Asia Cup match, who got the chance to hit the winning runs on the first ball. (ANI)
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