The marquee clash of Asia Cup 2025 turned out to be a damp squib. Unlike some of the recent T20I clashes between India and Pakistan that have produced thrillers, this contest didn't have any real twists or turns. A collective bowling performance led by Kuldeep Yadav (3-18) and Axar Patel (2-18) ensured that Pakistan's innings never got any momentum except when Shaheen Afridi hit a few sixes at the end. The total of 127 was never going to stretch India whose top-order virtually sealed the deal in the PowerPlay itself. From there on, it was only a question of when the target will be achieved. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav stayed on till the end to see his side across the line with 25 balls to spare. For Pakistan, Saim Ayub (3-35) was the pick of the bowlers while Abrar Ahmed was economical despite being wicketless.
Pakistan were at least 30 runs short of a par total and that was down to their inept batting as much as it was about India's discipline with the ball. The first ten overs were a crawl and it didn't help that two of their intent machines in Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris fell in the first two overs of the innings. Ayub fell off the first legal ball of the innings to Hardik Pandya while Haris's unwise option to slog Jasprit Bumrah sent him back to the dugout. Kuldeep and Axar then took over, squeezing the life out of Pakistan's innings by drying up the runs and picking wickets. Sahibzada Farhan managed to stay on at one end but he could nothing much except watch the procession at the other end.
Farhan laboured his way to a 44-ball 40 that also included three sixes but he too was far from fluent. At 83/7, it seemed like a paltry total for Pakistan but Afridi took the bowling one with some clean hitting, striking four sixes en route his 16-ball 33 to push the total past the 125-run mark when 100 itself seemed doubtful. His quick runs helped Pakistan avoid embarrassment with respect to their total but the score was always under-par and it took just the first two balls of India's innings for Salman Agha's side to realise it, if they hadn't already.
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Abhishek smashed Afridi's first ball for four and the second for a six to signal India's intent in finishing the game quickly. Shubman Gill fell after a few boundaries to Ayub's guile but Abhishek made good use of the Powerplay with some ruthless ball-striking. The left-hander too fell to Ayub but by then, the damage was done. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar then stitched a fifty partnership to put a stamp on the result. The former couldn't stay till the very end as he became Ayub's third victim of the night but Suryakumar and Shivam Dube ensured a quick finish to the game with the captain hoisting Sufiyan Muqeem over deep mid-wicket for a six to finish the game in style.
A notable moment after the game ended was that the Indian batters proceeded without exchanging handshakes with the Pakistan players. Considering the escalated tensions between the two countries, this wasn't entirely unexpected.
Brief scores: Pakistan 127/9 in 20 overs (Shaheen Afridi 33*; Kuldeep Yadav 3/18, Axar Patel 2/18) lost to India 131/3 in 15.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 47*, Abhishek Sharma 31, Tilak Varma 31; Saim Ayub 3-35)