Pakistan’s batting lineup once again failed to deliver a counter-attacking punch in the Asia Cup 2025. Pakistan managed to put on 127-9 on the board after a lot of hard work. Kuldeep Yadav was the destroyer in chief who took 3 wickets in his 4 spell and gave away 18 runs. Kuldeep Yadav wasn’t afraid of giving the ball extra flight, which did wonders for him & India.
Pakistan’s batting lineup once again got badly exposed. The decision to bat first at Dubai sounded tactical one but the batters lacked application to play significant knocks. There were huge hopes from Saim Ayub & Fakhar Zaman who once again failed to trouble the scorers which was astounding to see given their recent matches form.
Hardik Pandya & Jasprit Bumrah strike early to dent Pakistan
Pakistan’s elegant left-handed opening batter, Saim Ayub, was dismissed once again on a golden duck after the Hong Kong match. Hardik Pandya bowled an outswinger, and Saim Ayub couldn’t control his shot and played the shot at backward point. Jasprit Bumrah continued the good work by getting rid of Mohammad Haris, and all of a sudden, Pakistan’s score was 6-2 in 1.2 overs.
The surface didn’t have that many demons in it, but Hardik Pandya & Jasprit Bumrah bowled immaculate lines & lengths. Fakhar Zaman & Sahibzada Farhan brought the innings back on track. In the 3rd over, Hardik Pandya was taken to cleaners by Fakhar Zaman as Pakistan scored 13 runs in that over, which was the lone positive for the side in the powerplay overs. Pakistan had a topsy-turvy power play as they scored 42 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
Kuldeep Yadav & Axar Patel wreck Pakistan
The pitch began to deteriorate, and Kuldeep Yadav was able to fox the batters in the 6th over of the match. Fakhar Zama, who was getting into the groove, was duped by Axar Patel. In the 7th over, Axar Patel came around the wicket and on the 4th delivery, Fakhar Zaman stepped down the track & tried to smash a six straight down the ground but didn’t get the timing & his catch was taken at long on. Fakhar Zaman would be somewhat regretting his shot selection as his presence was needed much more than 17 runs in 15 balls.
Pakistan’s score was 45-3 in 7.4 overs at the time of Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal. Skipper Salman Ali Agha had a tough job on his hands. Salman Ali Agha was seen blatantly struggling against both Axar Patel & Varun Chakravarthy. Just at the brink of the 10th over, Axar Patel sent back the Pakistan skipper as a wild slog sweep shot failed very badly. Salman Ali Agha had a forgettable outing with the bat as he scored 3 runs in 12 balls, which doesn’t sound too well. Pakistan’s score at the end of 10 overs was 49-4.
India’s spinners, we can say, spun a web across Pakistani batters. Sahibzada Farhan was fighting a lone battle & saw his mates fall like a pack of cards. It won’t be wrong to say that Pakistani batters failed miserably to tackle the spin bowling. In the 13th over, Kuldeep Yadav deepened the agony for Pakistan by taking 2 back-to-back wickets in the form of Hasan Nawaz & Mohammad Nawaz. Pakistan was in tatters with 65-6 in 13 overs. The pitch very quickly became a minefield & Pakistan was in a very concerning position at 78-6 in 15 overs.
India bundle out Pakistan
Sahibzada Farhan was the only batter who looked in good touch amongst all the other batters. Boundaries were hard to come by for Pakistan, who looked confused whether to attack or defend against India’s shrewd spin bowling attack. Kuldeep Yadav got rid of the big fisth Sahibzada Farhan on the very first ball of the 17th over. Sahibzada Farhan scored 40 runs in 44 balls & hit 3 huge sixes and 1 four. It looked as if Sahibzada Farhan was batting on a different surface as he had a calm & composed head. Pakistan’s score was 83-7 in 16.1 overs when Farhan departed.
Pakistan’s batters never really looked in absolute control, which was quite astonishing. The last 5 overs, death overs though, brought some joy for Pakistan as they amassed 49 runs and took the total to 127-9 . Shaheen Afridi played a much-needed unbeaten cameo of 33 runs in 16 balls & struck 4 monstrous sixes for Pakistan,n which helped the side to get the score more than a run ball.
Pakistan played 63 dot balls, which can be said to be a crime in T20I cricket. Their batters failed to take the game deep and kept losing wickets at regular intervals of the match. Apart from Sahibzada Farhan, not a single batter scored 35+ runs, which isn’t that great for Men in Green. In the 20th over, Shaheen Afridi smashed 2 monstrous sixes to Hardik Pandya and yielded 16 runs from that over.
Who’s winning, India or Pakistan?
The target of 128 isn’t that much daunting, given India’s quality batting line-up up who have tremendous depth. The new ball spell of Shaheen Afridi would be defining, given Pakistan doesn’t have Haris Rauf in the side (*rested). India, on the other side would be quite confident of crossing the finish line unless & until they lose 4 wickets for 50 odd runs, which would spice up the match. India, though, is a sure-shot favorite to emerge victorious unless Pakistan inflict a tragic collapse, which seems unlikely to happen given they are 20-30 runs short most probably.
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