Asia Cup 2025 Final, IND vs PAK, Highlights: Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 guides India to ninth title with composed batting performance.
Brief Scores: India 150/5 (Tilak Varma 69*, Shivam Dube 33, Faheem Asharaf 3/29) beat Pakistan 146 (Shahibzada Farhan 57, Fakhar Zaman 46, Kuldeep Yadav 4/30) by 5 wickets. India won their ninth Asia Cup title.
India won their third successive game of the Asia Cup 2025 against Pakistan in a last-over thriller to seal their record ninth Asia Cup. Earlier in the night, Kuldeep Yadav’s 4/30 restricted Pakistan to a lowly 146 before a fantastic unbeaten 69 by Tilak Varma sealed the deal for India in the chase.
Talking Point: Tilak Varma’s calmness in pressure chase
India were down and out early on in the chase as they lost their in-form batter, Abhishek Sharma, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession. At that moment, Tilak Varma walked in and showed incredible character under immense pressure.
Along with both Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, he made sure India didn’t lose grip in the chase even though the required run-rate kept going up. He got India timely boundaries when they needed them the most and stayed till the end to finish the game for the team.
Read More: Asia Cup 2025, IND vs PAK: Abhishek, Shubman’s explosive stand powers India to 4-1 lead over Pakistan
Spinners trigger Pakistan middle-order collapse
Opting to bowl first, India started with Shivam Dube as the new ball bowler in the absence of Hardik Pandya. In his first two overs, Dube conceded just 12 runs as Pakistani openers were cautious in their approach. As the innings went on, the pair began to accelerate as they accumulated 45 runs in the powerplays.
In the next four overs, Pakistan hammered 42 runs with Farhan (57), scoring the major chunk of runs. Though Farhan got out before the halfway mark, runs came off the bat of Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman in the next few overs. However, the wicket of Ayub in the 13th over opened the floodgates for India.
When Kuldeep got that prized scalp, Pakistan were 113/1, and by the end of the 17th over, the score became 134/8. India spinners took all the wickets to fall, and eventually Pakistan got bowled out for 146 without completing their quota of overs.
Read More: Asia Cup 2025, IND vs PAK: Kuldeep, Axar spin brilliance sinks Pakistan; India go 3-1 up in Asia Cup T20Is
Tilak Varma delivers title-winning knock
Chasing a middling total, India got off to a poor start, losing three wickets inside the powerplays. First up, it was Abhishek Sharma, who failed for the first time this tournament, skipper Suryakumar Yadav, and Shubman Gill followed suit.
Tilak Varma, along with Sanju Samson, steadied the ship and didn’t allow the opposition to chip in with wickets. At the halfway mark, India stretched the total to 58/3 and needed a further 89 runs to win this contest. This is where India showed some signs of aggression, as both these batters struck a six each before Samson miscued one off Abrar Ahmed, halting this 57-run stand.
One more wicket here would have put India under tremendous pressure, but the pair of Shivam Dube and Varma absorbed all of those in their 60-run fifth-wicket stand. Pakistan did have a chance to see the back of Varma, but missed a run-out opportunity. Dube struck a few lusty blows before getting out on 33, bringing the equation down to 17 from the last two overs. Tilak made Pakistan pay as he took India home with five balls to spare.
Read More: Abhishek Sharma strikes at a rate of 197.21 in T20Is; What makes him an explosive opener?
Statistical highlights from IND vs PAK clash in Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 Final
- This was Sahibzada Farhan’s fifth T20I half-century and second against India in the format
- 4/30 by Kuldeep Yadav is his fifth four-wicket haul in T20Is. He has taken a four-fer earlier in the tournament against the UAE (4/7)
- The spinner now has 17 wickets in the Asia Cup, making him the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament’s history
- Suryakumar Yadav has scored 84 runs in 6 knock-out games across formats, at an average of 14
- The fourth wicket partnership of 57 between Samson & Varma is the third-highest for this wicket in a T20I knock-out game for India.
- Tilak Varma (69*) now has the second-highest individual score in a chasing cause in T20I tournament knock-out games for India
What’s Next
Following their unbeaten Asia Cup tourney, India will now shift their focus to their next international assignment, and that is the 2-match Test series at home against West Indies, starting on October 2.
Top Twitter Reactions from IND vs PAK, Asia cup 2025 Final
Hard-earned win for India. Pak fought well, but India’s depth in bowling and batting seeing the team through. Superb performances by Kuldeep, Tilak
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 28, 2025
We have always known he was a fine young player but this is the making of #TilakVarma. Under pressure, this is a great innings
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 28, 2025
Rauf has been there before …
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) September 28, 2025
Sending a Reminder, it’s 8-0 now !! #IndvPak
Tilak has skills, technique and jazba to stay till the end against Pakistan in a big final. Much improved and very very consistent. 👏👏
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 28, 2025
The use of #ShivamDube is a great example of how good teams nurture players and give them confidence. And he delivered with bat and ball.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 28, 2025
Read More: India stand vindicated; There’s no written rule that forces teams to end game with handshake
