Asia Cup: Kuldeep, Axar, Suryakumar star in India’s thumping win over Pakistan

Dubai: Skipper Suryakumar Yadav celebrated his 35th birthday in style by hitting an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls to guide India to a clinical seven-wicket win over Pakistan in a marquee Group A clash of the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

Chasing 128, India cruised to victory with 25 balls to spare, which showed how much superior they were as compared to Pakistan in all aspects of the game. After the chase was over, Suryakumar and Shivam Dube (10 not out) walked off briskly, with no handshakes exchanged between players once again in the game being played for the first time after heightened diplomatic tensions earlier this year.

India’s easy chase was also helped by brisk contributions from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma – both left-handed batters scoring 31 each, as India registered their second consecutive win in the tournament.

Earlier, India’s spin-heavy strategy proved decisive for the second game running. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav led the charge with figures of 3-18, while Axar Patel chipped in with 2-18. Varun Chakaravarthy had figures of 1-24, as the trio operated with remarkable control on a sluggish Dubai pitch to restrict Pakistan to 127/9.

The sluggish Dubai surface further aided India’s tweakers, whose control and variations left Pakistan struggling for momentum throughout their innings. While Sahibzada Farham top-scored with 40, a late flourish from Shaheen Shah Afridi, who hit an unbeaten 16-ball 33, gave some respectability to Pakistan’s total, which was always going to be inadequate for a marauding Indian batting line-up.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 127/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 40, Shaheen Shah Afridi 33 not out; Kuldeep Yadav 3-18, Axar Patel 2-18) lost to India 131/3 in 15.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 41 not out, Abhishek Sharma 31; Saim Ayub 3-22) by seven wickets

IANS