In a game obsessed with batting feats, this was a win fronted primarily by India’s bowlers. In 13 overs, India’s spinners had accounted for six wickets, for just 65 runs. Overall, 63 dot balls had been bowled by India. None of this would have been possible without help from Pakistan’s batters.
Till Shaheen Shah Afridi smoked 33 off 16 balls—including two sixes off Hardik Pandya in the last over—Pakistan looked adamant on not crossing the 100-run mark. A dash of Pandya in the first over, followed by the slow choke applied by Jasprit Bumrah, and Pakistan were 6/2 within eight balls. None of the shots were worth writing home about, Saim Ayub spooning Pandya to point before Mohammad Haris tried to take on Bumrah and was caught at deep-backward square.
Pakistan’s shot selection bordered on the shocking, but not till left-arm spin was introduced did it slump to subterranean levels. Kuldeep Yadav was the chief tormentor, not surprising since his returns against Pakistan across formats before this match were 1/37, 2/41, 2/32, 5/25, 2/35 and 3/40.
It was Axar Patel though who first broke Pakistan’s resistance, hurrying Fakhar Zaman with a 94kph ball that he top edged, Tilak Varma taking the catch running in from long-on. The next five wickets all went to spin, Pakistan mustering 52 in 60 balls, with even Abhishek Sharma chipping in with a five-run over.
That was after Patel struck again on the 10-over mark, dismissing Pakistan captain Salman Agha. This time the ball was slower in the air, bowled at 85kph, pitched on length and reared up on Agha who was attempting a sweep. Top edge again, giving a comfortable catch to Abhishek at the square leg boundary. That was the cue for Kuldeep to come in and completely halt Pakistan on their tracks with a double-wicket over, accounting for Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Nawaz off consecutive deliveries.
The evident gap in class was not just due to the accuracy of India’s spinners, but also because of Pakistan’s obstinacy in not learning from the mistakes and playing with a straight bat. Pakistan were 65/6 but still had 42 balls left to play, yet the next three overs went for 18 runs, plainly because they were trying to smash every ball instead of placing it well.
That meant there was no let-off from India till Afridi tried to break the shackles by taking on Varun Chakravarthy, freeing his arms and clearing the fielder at wide long-off for his first six. He hit three more sixes but that counterattack paled in comparison to what India’s openers unleashed.
First ball from Afridi, Abhishek danced down the track to take him on the full and cart him down the ground for a boundary. The next ball was at the block hole, but he went inside out to hammer a six over cover. Next over, Shubman Gill drilled Saim Ayub down the ground for four, lofting him over extra-cover for another four before being stumped by a superb carrom ball. He was in no mood to slow down though, opening the face of his bat to Afridi for a four before flicking his slower ball into the stands for six.
Two more boundaries off Ayub in the next over and Abhishek was threatening to run away with the game. That’s when Ayub hit back again, getting him caught at long-off, to bring Tilak Varma to the middle.
It was the trigger needed to inject common sense to the batting, as Suryakumar and Varma added 56 runs in 52 balls till Ayub struck again, making the ball turn sharply and clatter into Varma’s off stump. It was too little too late though, as Suryakumar dug in with Shivam Dube to ensure there were no more hiccups towards the end. Following India’s thumping beating of Pakistan , Former Indian bowler Murali Karthik has expressed delight seeing India’s dominant growth in T20I cricket.
Murali Karthik in all praise of growth of Indian cricket post win in Asia Cup 2025 vs Pakistan
Former India spinner Murali Kartik highlighted the outstanding depth in Indian cricket, noting that several talented players were unable to make it into the squad for the 2025 Asia Cup. His assessment came after the Men in Blue rolled over Pakistan in a Group A clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 14. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. chased down a 128-run target in 15 overs with seven wickets in the bank.
Kartik mentioned the name of Sai Sudharsan, who won the Orange Cap in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) but failed to secure a spot in the Asia Cup squad. Apart from the Gujarat Titans’ opener, Kartik also named the likes of Washington Sundar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who couldn’t break into the squad.
“Just think of the kind of players who are missing out. Somebody like a Sai Sudharsan, an Orange cap holder, can’t make the side. Washington Sundar can’t make the side. Ruturaj Gaikwad can’t make the side. Arshdeep Singh can’t make the XI. These are the kind of players you are talking about,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also mentioned Abhishek Sharma’s six off the first ball of India’s innings against Pakistan. The Punjab batter hit the ground running, belting Shaheen Shah Afridi for a maximum to make his intentions clear.
“Just the way they played yesterday. The first ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi there is not even a sighter, which Abhishek Sharma needs. He runs down the track. That is the kind of talent you are talking about. We talk about all the other sides, like Hong Kong or Oman, being slightly below par or not up to scratch when it comes to other sides. Yesterday, India looked possibly the best side on view. There was no comparison at all,” he added.
Murali Kartik opined that even the IPL teams which finish in the bottom half of the points table can defeat international sides. According to the former left-arm tweaker, the cash-rich league is tougher than international cricket.
“Just think of the number of sides, and this is no disrespect to any side. We talk about international cricket, which means these are countries playing, and you just take the quality of all the IPL sides 1-10. You think of 1, which finishes top in the final. Think of the 10th team, anybody, that is a year which could go wrong for any franchise, but think of the quality in the 10th-placed side that can actually beat most of the international sides,” Kartik said.
“That is what we are talking about. So IPL is a tough gig. It is tougher than international cricket because sometimes you can get to play some teams which are not that tough, but they are still playing international cricket,” he added.
India have already progressed to the Super-Four stage of the 2025 Asia Cup. They will be facing Oman in their final Group A fixture on Friday, September 19, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Aakash Chopra Expects Arshdeep Singh To Not Feature Against Pakistan