India beat Pakistan, claim their second T20 Asia Cup title
What's the story
India claimed their second T20 Asia Cup title after beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final in Dubai. The Men in Blue successfully chased down 147 despite facing a top-order collapse. Tilak Varma powered India to a formidable win in the final over, scoring a half-century. Earlier, the Kuldeep Yadav-led spin attack decimated Pakistan, who slumped from 113/1 to 146/10. Here are the key stats.
Start
Farhan, Fakhar bolster Pakistan's first half
Pakistan had a quiet start, with Sahibzada Farhan facing four successive dot balls against Dube. After a few hits and misses, the Pakistan opener attacked Jasprit Bumrah with some crisp boundaries. Farhan even found boundaries against spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel after the Powerplay. He eventually slammed a 38-ball 57 (5 fours and 3 sixes), getting Pakistan to 84/0 alongside Fakhar Zaman.
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Phenomenal run against India
Farhan has been phenomenal against India in the 2025 Asia Cup. He slammed 58 and 40 in Pakistan's previous two encounters against the opposition, respectively. However, Pakistan lost both matches.
Wickets
Chakravarthy, Kuldeep strike in quick succession
After the Farhan-Fakhar stand, Varun Chakravarthy drew first blood. He dismissed Farhan to give India a crucial breakthrough. However, Fakhar and Saim Ayub propelled Pakistan past 110 in the 13th over. This is when Kuldeep and Axar came into play. Kuldeep, who was wicketless in his first two overs, dismissed Saim Ayub to bring Pakistan down to 113/2.
Collapse
Spinners trigger Pakistan's collapse
Pakistan lost two more wickets in Mohammad Haris and Fakhar in the next two overs. While Axar removed Hussain Talat, Kuldeep got rid of Pakistan skipper Salman Agha. The latter dismissed Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf in the same over. With Pakistan having slumped to 134/8, Kuldeep finished with 4-0-30-4. Bumrah dismissed Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz to wrap up Pakistan's innings (19.1 overs).
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Pakistan: Pace vs spin
As per Cricbuzz, Pakistan lost two wickets to pace after scoring 48 runs in 6.1 overs. They scored just 95 runs in 13 overs of spin-bowling, having conceded eight wickets.
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Best returns in T20 Asia Cup finals
As per ESPNcricinfo, Kuldeep now has the best returns for a bowler in the T20 Asia Cup finals. He surpassed Sri Lanka's Pramod Madushan, who took 4/34 versus Pakistan in the 2022 final.
Milestone
Most wickets in a T20 Asia Cup
Kuldeep finished the 2025 T20 Asia Cup on a high, topping the wicket tally. The wrist-spinner took 17 wickets from seven matches at an incredible average of 9.29. His economy rate reads 6.27 (2 four-fers). As per Cricbuzz, Kuldeep recorded the most wickets for a bowler in a T20 Asia Cup edition. He earlier went past UAE's Amjad Javed (12 in 2016).
India's start
India's top order falters in big final
Unlike the previous games, India lost Abhishek Sharma in the second over. He was dismissed by Faheem Ashraf for a 6-ball 5. India lost skipper Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill in the next few balls. Tilak and Sanju Samson led the recovery after India were down to 20/3. They took India past 70 before Abrar Ahmed outfoxed Samson (24).
Partnership
Tilak, Dube add finishing touch
Tilak took calculated risks and propelled India past 100 alongside Shivam Dube. The latter successfully rotated the strike besides finding boundaries. And, Pakistan were unable to exert pressure on the Indian batters. Although the required rate went past 10 in the 18th over, Dube slammed a pressure-releasing six off Rauf. Despite losing Dube, Tilak and Rinku Singh sealed India's win in the final over.
Tilak
Tilak bags these feats
Tilak returned unbeaten on 69 off 53 balls (3 fours and 4 sixes). As per ESPNcricinfo, Tilak recorded the second-highest individual score in the Men's T20 Asia Cup finals. He is only behind Sri Lanka's Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who slammed a match-winning 71* in the 2022 final against Pakistan. Notably, Tilak's 4 sixes are the most by a batter in a T20 Asia Cup final.
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Tilak closing in on 1,000 T20I runs
In 32 T20Is (30 innings), Tilak has racked up 962 runs at a remarkable average of 53.44. He has a staggering strike rate of 149.14 in the format. His tally includes two tons and four half-centuries.
Champions
Finishing unbeaten!
India have finished unbeaten in three of the last five Asia Cup editions. They won the 2016 T20 Asia Cup without a defeat under MS Dhoni. Under Rohit Sharma, India won the 2018 50-over Asia Cup unbeaten. And now, Suryakumar has led India to the Asia Cup title, winning all seven games. They defeated Pakistan thrice in the 2025 edition.