Asia Cup 2025: Decoding dominance of Indian batters in powerplay
What's the story
The Indian cricket team secured a stunning six-wicket win over Pakistan in their first Super 4 match of the Asia Cup 2025. The victory came on the back of an explosive performance by Abhishek Sharma, who scored a blistering 74 runs off just 39 balls at the Dubai Cricket Stadium. Notably, the game saw India accumulate 69 runs in the first six overs. On this note, let's decode India's powerplay dominance in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025.
Powerplay
Sharma, Gill set the tone for India's run-chase
India's 172-run chase in the aforementioned match started on a strong note with Abhishek hitting a six off the first ball. The duo of Abhishek and Shubman Gill took India to 69/0 in the powerplay, their best against Pakistan. The two batters went on to add 105 runs as Suryakumar Yadav's team accomplished the target with seven balls to spare. Notably, Abhishek and Gill powered their team to the highest powerplay total in India-Pakistan T20Is.
Previous games
60-plus runs in all four matches
India have played four games so far in the ongoing tourney. All these matches have witnessed the Men in Blue post 60-plus scores in the powerplay. Besides the 69/0 in the recent clash, India's previous powerplay scores in the 2025 T20 Asia Cup read 60/1 (4.3 overs) vs UAE, 61/2 vs Pakistan, and 60/1 vs Oman. Astonisingly, no other team has recorded a 60-plus powerplay total even once in this competition, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Information
India way above other teams
As per Cricbuzz, India have scored at a run rate of 11.11 in the powerplay in this competition. They are far ahead of the second-placed Bangladesh, who have clocked runs at a rate of 8.29 in the first six overs.
Abhishek
The Abhishek Sharma factor
Abhishek's fearless intent at the top has been the key to India's powerplay dominance. 132 of his 173 runs in this tourney have come in the first six overs. The southpaw's strike rate in this phase is a stunning 216.39.