Tilak Varma held his nerve with a match-winning 69* off 53 balls as India edged Pakistan by five wickets to claim the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 at Dubai International Stadium. Chasing 147, India overcame an early collapse to finish in 19.4 overs, with Varma’s innings featuring four sixes and three boundaries.
Pakistan’s new-ball pair, Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, struck early, removing Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shubman Gill within four overs, reducing India to 20/3. Varma steadied the chase with a 57-run stand with Sanju Samson and later a 60-run partnership with Shivam Dube, whose 33 off 22 balls provided crucial momentum.
Earlier, Pakistan’s strong start—led by Sahibzada Farhan (57) and Fakhar Zaman (46)—was undone by a middle-order collapse. Kuldeep Yadav took 4/30, with support from Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Jasprit Bumrah, as Pakistan folded for 146 in 19.1 overs.
India’s victory marks their ninth Asia Cup title, the first final between these arch-rivals in the tournament’s history, with Pakistan left to rue their middle-order collapse despite impressive performances from Farhan, Fakhar, and Faheem.
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