India chalked up an emphatic 7 wicket win against Pakistan in an Asia Cup 2025 match at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday after Pakistani batsmen crumbled to Indian spin bowlers to score a paltry total of 127 runs.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav led his side’s successful chase with an unbeaten 47 runs knock as a young Pakistani side failed to make an impression.
Pakistani bowlers found it hard to defend the small total, but Saim Ayub displayed his all-round skills by claiming all the three Indian wickets that fell during the chase. Opener Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma scored 31 runs each.
Earlier, Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel restricted Pakistan to 127 for nine, taking three and two wickets respectively with their controlled bowling.
Paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi lifted in the final overs, hitting four sixes to score 33 off just 16 balls in the last few overs.
Afridi’s scintillating display made up for the failure of the the top and middle order batters, who collapsed in the face of some quality Indian spin bowling.
Shaheen‘s lofty shots included two successive sixes off Hardik Pandya in the last over.
Sahibzada Farhan top-scored for Pakistan with 40 runs but kept losing partners on the other end.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in a crucial match against India of Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai but lost opener Saim Ayub in the very first over.
Ayub was caught off the bowling of Hardik Pandya on the offside, in a shot described as irresponsible.
In the second over, Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah had Mohammad Haris caught in the deep.
However, Sahibzada Farhan hit two sixes off Bumrah in back-to-back overs.
Farhan and left-handed Fakhar Zaman staged a recovery with a quick partnership.
The two sides are relying on spinners in the contest.
This is the first time Pakistani and Indian cricket teams are playing after a deadly conflict between the two South Asian nations in May.
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Asim Tanveer is a seasoned journalist working for TV and electronic and print media outlets. He has been working for some of the world’s leading news organizations including Associated Press (AP), Reuters, BBC, CNN, CNBC, Star TV, Voice of America and The New York Times for more than 20 years. He has won several awards for his live coverage of events that include a Reuters News Agency World Award and the Pride of Performance award in 2010.
