In their first Super Four game of the Asia Cup 2025, the Suryakumar Yadav-led India National Cricket Team faced off against the Pakistan National Cricket Team.
The high-profile match between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan was hosted by the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, September 21.
The way the boys are stepping up in every game – Suryakumar Yadav
Winning the toss and opting to bowl first in the match, India restricted Pakistan to 171/5. Shivam Dube was the pick of the bowlers for India as he bagged two wickets, while Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav also got one wicket each.
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Chasing the target, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill demolished Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and other bowlers. After they got out, Tilak Varma and other batters stepped up to finish off the match in 18.5 overs as India won by 6 wickets.
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav lauded his teammates for bouncing back strongly after the first 10 overs. He said:
“The way the boys are stepping up in every game, it’s making my job very easy. The boys showed a lot of character. They were calm after the first 10 overs (of India’s bowling innings).”
That’s fine, he’s not a robot – Suryakumar Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah had a forgettable outing against Pakistan as he conceded 45 runs in 4 overs, but he was defended fiercely by his skipper, Suryakumar Yadav. He said:
“After drinks, I told them the game starts now. That’s fine, he’s not a robot, he will have a bad day someday (talking about Bumrah). Dube bailed us out of the situation.”
Suryakumar Yadav further lauded Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma for their performance and spoke about India’s fielding blunders. He said:
“They complement each other really well (Abhishek and Gill). It’s like a fire and ice combination. After the first innings, our fielding coach – T Dilip, has emailed all players who had butter fingers today.”
How did India enter the Super Fours of the Asia Cup 2025?
Team India, as expected, were absolutely dominant in the Group Stage of the Asia Cup 2025 and they comprehensively registered three back-to-back wins to make it to the Super Four stage.
Suryakumar Yadav’s team finished at the No.1 spot in Group A, with six points in their bag, and had an incredible Net Run Rate of 3.547, which was the best among both groups.
India started off the competition by decimating the United Arab Emirates on September 10 as they registered a dominant 9-wicket victory with 93 balls remaining.
Also Read: Watch: India deliver final insult, refuse handshake after crushing Pakistan in Asia Cup clash
Then, they annihilated the arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14 and won by 7 wickets with 25 balls remaining. Notably, the left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav won the Player of the Match award in both matches for taking a total of seven wickets.
The Men In Blue’s last group stage game was against a spirited Oman side that gave the Suryakumar Yadav-led team a good competition.
Even though India were quite casual in the game, with Suryakumar slotting himself at No.11 and using eight bowling options, Oman gave the side a massive scare while chasing the target. However, India bounced back in the final stages of the match to register a 21-run victory on September 19.
