Asia Cup 2025: India vs Pakistan, Match 6 - Who Said What?
Pakistan could never really break free from the Men in Blue's grasp during their innings.
4 Min Read
India claimed a massive seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the Match No. 6 of Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 14. With this, the Men in Blue have won their second group-stage game after overpowering UAE by nine wickets at the same venue a few days ago. They have also qualified for the Super Four stages now, becoming the first team this year to do so.
Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah struck in successive overs in the powerplay to get rid of Saim Ayub (0 off 1) and Mohammad Haris (3 off 5). They ended up with 42/2 at the end of the powerplay. Axar Patel conceded only one run in his first over, along with dismissing Fakhar Zaman (17 off 15). By the end of 10 overs, skipper Salman Ali Agha had to walk back after becoming Axar's second victim.
Kuldeep Yadav left Pakistan in all sorts of trouble by striking twice in his second over. Sahibzada Farhan's 44-ball struggle came to an end on the first ball of the 17th over. He had managed to score only 40. Shaheen Shah Afridi's breezy 33-run innings brought some respectability to the scoreboard. The side somehow managed to crawl to 127/9 at the end of the first innings.
31 of India's 42 runs in the first four overs of the chase were via ravishing opener Abhishek Sharma's bat, who started the innings alongside Shubman Gill (10 off 7). Both the openers were snapped up by Ayub across different overs of the match. A 13-run sixth over meant India had got to 61 by the end of the powerplay. Sufiyan Muqeem conceded 14 runs in his second over, making the equation come down to 40 required off 60 balls.
There were no boundaries scored in the next three overs. Ayub had managed to get rid of Tilak Verma (31 off 31) too. Shivam Dube (10* off 7) combined along with skipper Suryakumar Yadav (47* off 37) take India across the line. Abrar Ahmed (0/16 in four overs) was the most economical bowler from Pakistan. Shaheen Shah Afridi conceded 23 runs in just the two overs bowled.
Asia Cup 2025: Hilarious Reactions from IND vs PAK, Match 6
Talking Points
1. Ineffective utilization of powerplay by Pakistan
On grounds like the DICS where run-scoring is usually considered hard, Pakistani batters failed to make the most of the fielding restrictions. They scored only three fours and two sixes, when a lot more than that were needed against a quality opposition attack. Although, a lot of credit has to be given to the Indian bowlers here, who held on to brilliant line and lengths to not let the runs leak.
2. Indian spinners apply choke during middle phase
13 overs were bowled by the spin-bowling trio and Abhishek Sharma (one over for five runs). The Men in Green managed only 65 runs by the end of the thirteenth over. India's crafted spinners helped maintain a tight grip on the game and never let Pakistan build any sort of momentum. Axar chipped in with a couple of wickets, whereas, Kuldeep Yadav took 3 for 18 in his four overs.
3. Abhishek starts well, SKY finishes
Much like the match against the UAE, Abhishek went hard at the bowlers and did not let them settle. Even though he did not carry on till the end, the start he had given his team was enough for the rest of the batting unit to treat the match as a 50-over contest.
Who Said What?
Kuldeep Yadav, Player of the Match
Simple. Just execute the plans. Just see who is batting and react accordingly. I had my plans and executed them. First ball is always a wicket-taking ball, just have to go with that mindset and execute that wicket-taking ball. Batter maybe set but he's facing me for the first time. Still feel I really need to work on my bowling. Sometimes, I feel I use too many variations.
No handshakes post match, Indians shut dressing room doors
Suryakumar Yadav, Winning Captain
(Crowd chanting Happy Birthday) Great feeling and a perfect return gift to India. Human tendency that it keeps running in your mind when you think about it (his earlier line about the win being a return gift). You definitely want to win it and when you win it, you have it ready. One box that I always wanted to tick - stay there and bat till the end. For the whole team, we think it's just another game. We prepare the same for all the oppositions. That's what happened a few months back. The team that won the CT set the tone. I'm always a fan of spinners because they control the game in the middle. Just wanted to say something. Perfect occasion, taking the time out, we stand by the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack. We express our solidarity. Want to dedicate the win to all our Armed Forces who showed a lot of bravery. Hope they continue to inspire us all and we give them more reasons on the ground whenever we get an opportunity to make them smile.
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