Asia Cup 2025, Super 4, IND vs BAN: Abhishek Sharma’s brilliance and India’s bowlers secure victory over Bangladesh, booking Final berth.
Brief Scores: India 168/6 (Abhishek Sharma 75, Rishad Hossain 2/27) beat Bangladesh 127 (Saif Hassan 69, Kuldeep Yadav 3/18, Jasprit Bumrah 2/18) by 41 runs.
Player of the Match: Abhishek Sharma (75 runs in 37 balls)
India came into their second Super 4 fixture of the 2025 edition of the Men’s T20 Asia Cup with an unbeaten run. They locked horns with Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium after beating Pakistan three evenings ago. Under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, the aim was to win the game and nearly confirm their spot in the final of the event.
Bangladesh’s stand-in captain, Jaker Ali, won the toss and decided to bowl first, expecting the surface to get better for batting. He took the captaincy after Litton Das injured themselves during the practice session. They also surprisingly left out Mahedi Hasan and Taskin Ahmed from the playing eleven.
For the Blue Brigade, it was the same playing eleven. There were reports of Jasprit Bumrah getting a break during the break, but perhaps the management wanted to book their place in the final.
Talking point: India’s unstable chopping and changing in batting order
Everyone was surprised when Shivam Dube walked at number three in the batting order. It wasn’t even to replace a left-handed batter. Tilak Varma, who was given the number three role. Sanju Samson didn’t even come to bat, even after India lost five wickets before 15 overs. Axar Patel, coming up the order, could not connect with the bat on the ball as their batting flustered.
Read More: Asia Cup 2025, IND vs PAK: Abhishek, Shubman’s explosive stand powers India to 4-1 lead over Pakistan
India’s middle order lacks fire after Abhishek Sharma’s quickfire 75 to post 168/6
It was an unnatural start from India’s openers, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, who got 17 runs in the first three overs. The former drilled a straight four to break the jail before the left-handed batter joined the party. In the last three overs of the powerplay, the defending champions added 55 runs for one wicket.
Abhishek celebrated his successive fifty in just 25 balls. When India managed their way to 96/2 at the halfway mark, they looked set to cross the 200-run barrier. But once the Punjab-born got out for 75 runs in 37 balls, the middle order fell like a pack of cards. They lost three wickets for just 17 runs.
It was Hardik Pandya, whose 38 runs in 29 deliveries pushed the Blue Brigade to 168/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Tanzim Hasan Shakib was excellent with his figures of 1/29 in four overs.
Read More: Is Sanju Samson’s game suited for the middle order in T20 cricket?
India qualify for Asia Cup 2025 final with 41-run win
India needed to get a fine start with the ball, and Jasprit Bumrah provided them with the same. The premier pacer, on his very second ball of the innings, sent back Tanzid Tamim, who got a leading edge in the air. Parvez Emon, after a few aggressive shots, was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav. Colliding with the pressure, Towhid Hridoy got dismissed for seven runs in 10 balls as Bangladesh reached 65/3 at the halfway mark.
Apart from Saif Hasan, no one was able to hold the crease for longer as they kept losing wickets one after another. Kuldeep’s two wickets for three runs in the 17th over changed the equation as he ended with magical figures of 3/18 in four overs.
Once Bumrah came back to send back Saif Hassan for 69 runs, it was just a matter of time. The opposition got rolled over for 127 to lose the game by 41 runs.
Statistical highlights from IND vs BAN clash in Super 4 stage of Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025
- Abhishek Sharma struck his sixth 50+ knock in T20Is.
- Abhishek is now the third-highest run-scorer for India in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup (248) Virat Kohli (429) & Rohit Sharma (271) are ahead of him.
- Mustafizur Rahman (150) has overtaken Shakib Al Hasan (149) to become the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in T20Is.
- India’s total of 168-6 is their fourth-lowest first innings score since July 2024.
- Mustafizur becomes the joint third leading T20I wicket-taker with Ish Sodhi with 150 wickets. He is only behind Tim Southee (164) and Rashid Khan (173).
Read More: Abhishek Sharma strikes at a rate of 197.21 in T20Is; What makes him an explosive opener?
What’s to come and points table scenario?
India, having qualified for the final, will face Sri Lanka in a dead-rubber on September 26 in Dubai. In less than 24 hours, Bangladesh will meet Pakistan for a do-or-die clash as the winner will make it to the final.
Sri Lanka are knocked out of the event. India are at the top of the table with four points at a net run rate of +1.357, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Top Twitter Reactions from IND vs BAN, Super 4, Asia Cup 2025
Beating Bangladesh almost a formality, but India were patchy. Barring Abhishek, batting disappointed. The bowling was better in comparison, Bumrah making heartening return to form. Four dropped catches was a worry though. Showed either poor skills or lack of attention!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 24, 2025
Having world-class bowlers such as Varun, Kuldeep and Bumrah back in his element helps in defending any target, well played #TeamIndia #INDvsBAN
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 24, 2025
This Indian team is just too strong. Even with a below-par score, they cruised to victory. Bumrah & Kuldeep delivered 8 world-class overs, with Varun Chakravarthy chipping in nicely too. Only area to tighten up -catching!
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 24, 2025
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