At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday, India defeated Pakistan by six wickets in a Super Fours match of the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup, thanks to a brilliant 74 off 39 balls from Abhishek Sharma. As the world champions continued their undefeated streak in the competition, the outcome also represented India’s most successful chase against Pakistan in T20Is.
Abhishek set the tone for a commanding chase as he hit the opening ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi for six, igniting India’s determined pursuit of 172. Together with Shubman Gill, who scored a quick 47 off 28 deliveries, the two created a game-changing opening partnership of 105 runs that left Pakistan reeling.
India reached home with seven balls remaining after a brief lull, thanks to Tilak Varma’s unbroken 30 off 19 balls, which guaranteed a smooth chase finish. Without exchanging handshakes, Varma and Pandya silently left the Pakistani team and made their way inside the jubilant Indian dressing room.
Prior to this, Pakistan reached 171/5 in their 20 overs, with Sahibzada Farhan leading the way with 58 and Faheem Ashraf providing a late boost with an undefeated 20 off eight balls. Pakistan’s innings was anchored by Farhan’s half-century, which was distinguished by his deft use of the crease and strategic footwork.
Particularly during the powerplay, when he attacked an unmotivated Jasprit Bumrah, who gave up 34 runs in his opening three overs, the opener frequently produced shots and disturbed India’s lengths.
After soaring to 91/1 in the opening 10 overs, with Farhan and Saim Ayub sharing a 72-run partnership for the second wicket, Pakistan appeared destined for a much higher total. However, after adding seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube to the attack, Pakistan lost steam.
With just 38 runs scored between overs 11 and 17, Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav successfully applied the brakes to limit Pakistan’s scoring.
Considering their early dominance, the total seems disappointing even if Pakistan did make some progress in the last three overs, giving up 42 runs. Kuldeep and Hardik Pandya each claimed a wicket, while Dube took 2-33.
Short scores:
Pakistan 171/5 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 58, Saim Ayub 21; Shivam Dube 2-33, Hardik Pandya 1-29) lost to India 174/4 in 18.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma 74, Shubman Gill 47; Haris Rauf 2-26, Faheem Ashraf 1-31) by six wickets
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