Asia Cup: Here's how Indian spinners tormented Pakistan in Dubai
What's the story
India convincingly defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in the Asia Cup 2025 clash in Dubai. The match was highlighted by a brilliant display of spin bowling from Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, who left the Pakistani batting order in tatters. After early breakthroughs by Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay, the spinners took over. They delivered an impressive performance that was pivotal in restricting Pakistan to 127/9, setting up an easy chase for the Indian batters.
Spin strategy
Axar Patel's crucial breakthroughs
Axar was instrumental in India's win, dismissing Fakhar Zaman in his first over before trapping Salman Agha in his second. He first tempted Zaman into a big shot, which was caught by Tilak Varma at long-on. Two overs later, he dismissed Salman with a well-placed ball that was top-edged to deep square leg. These two wickets in quick succession left Pakistan reeling at 49/4 at the halfway mark of their innings.
Bowling brilliance
Kuldeep Yadav's match-winning spell
Kuldeep also played a key role in India's victory, taking two wickets in the 13th over. He first dismissed Hasan Nawaz with a loopy legbreak that bounced extra before getting Mohammad Nawaz out on the next delivery. This double strike showed how well India had managed their resources throughout the innings. In the 17th over, Kuldeep removed opener Sahibzada Farhan (40), who held his end. Meanwhile, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy also took a wicket, trapping Faheem Ashraf lbw.
Match figures
Yet another three-fer for Kuldeep
Kuldeep, who took three wickets for 18 runs in four overs, clinched his second successive Player-of-the-Match award. In India's tournament opener, Kuldeep ended with figures of 4/7 from 2.1 overs, as UAE perished for 57. Axar also gave away 18 runs from his four overs, while managing two wickets. Chakravarthy's four overs went for 24 runs (1 wicket). Abhishek Sharma also bowled an over of left-arm spin, conceding five runs without any success.
Match analysis
Spinners power India to victory
Pakistan's batting order struggled against India's spin attack, with no boundaries being hit between overs 5.3 to 11 and two wickets falling during this period. The brilliance of the spinners had reduced the Men in Green to 97/8. However, Shaheen Afridi's brilliant 16-ball 33* pushed the team past 120. Nevertheless, the Men in Blue successfully chased down the total with seven wickets and 4.1 overs to spare.