India vs Pakistan Highlights, Asia Cup 2025 Super 4: IND defeat PAK by six wickets in Dubai

“This is no longer a rivalry, when. a team is winning 7-1 or 13-0. Rivalry is when teams win 6-7 games each.”

We are yet to play a perfect game, but we are getting there. A great game but in the powerplay they took the game away from us. Looking back with the position we were in after 10 overs, we could have got 10-15 more. 170-180 is a good total but in the powerplay they batted well, that was the difference. If you see the bowlers are going for runs, you need to change it, that's how it goes in T20s. There's a lot of positives - the way Fakhar batted, Farhan batted and Harry bowled. Looking forward to the next game against Sri Lanka.

Tilak Varma ultimately finishes the job for India. His cameo has seen them through without much stutter in the end. It is another fabulous chase from India against Pakistan. In the first innings, especially in the first few overs, the sluggish fielding and poor bowling gave an impression of only one side turning up, but as the innings went on, India got better and better, and in the 2nd innings, although Pakistan had runs under their belt to defend, that opening partnership between Gill and Abhishek blew them away. The way Pakistan has played yet again today sums up their predicament against India in recent times. When their batting worked, their bowling faltered, and when the bowling does work, batting does not turn up. Will we have another India vs Pakistan next Sunday? We have to wait and see. For now, that's it from the game part. We will be right back with the presentation. Do stay with us.

India is getting squeezed about since those wickets. As we update, Rauf has picked up Sanju Samson. The batter tried to heave the ball on the leg-side and missed the ball completely and the stumps got rattled. Do we have a twist in the tale here late in the piece? From a comfortoble situation to an awkward sitaution India has brought themselves in the last 20 minutes or so. Hardik Pandya has walked into the middle it is his and Tilak's calmness needed to take India over the line. Amidst all the choas, Haris Rauf has been the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan today.

Abrar Ahmed has picked up Abhishek Sharma here. It was a leg-spinner thrown away from Abhishek, which could have been cut, but for some reason the left-hander tried to drag it from there to the leg-side, and it took the bottom edge, and Haris Rauf took the catch. India is in control of this game at this point in time, but they have lost three quick wickets. Sanju Samson has walked into the middle, and all the situation demands from here is some common sense cricket, and both Tilak and Samson have played enough IPL cricket to understand that, and both would be aiming to have a not out next to their name by the end of this game.

We have an early drinks break here. Gill charged down the ground and played a tennis shot through the cover region, and was in a bit of discomfort as he was trying to take a single. It is quite hot and humid out in the middle, and Gill has played a lot of cricket in recent times. India will be hoping it is nothing serious and it is a cramp. If it is a hamstring injury it will take a few weeks before it will heal hence he might be out of the tournament. As per the game itself another game against India a deja vu for Pakistan. They have got a decent total today but the bowling has looked absolutely toothless or made to look as one by the assault of Abhishek and Gill.

Abhishek drove one through covers to get to his half-century here. What a sublime a innings this has been from him. Since coming to the Indian side he has been given freehand. There will be days he will not come off but on the days like this there is no stopping him. This innings once again took the game away in the powerplay from Pakistan, and now India are in a situation where they can just cruise to a win. And mind you they are chasing 171 runs and that score is being made a mockery by the way both these openers are batting in the middle. Credit also must be given to Shubman Gill. he complemented Abhishek Sharma quite superbly.

India is running away here with the chase. Shubman Gill did get hold of Shaheen Shah in that previous over, carving him for three boundaries. There was some heated exchange between the duo but because Gill got three boundaries away he had the last laugh. Abrar Ahmed has come into the attack early in the piece here, and Abhishek Sharma is going after him. His economy through the competition has been around 3s, but Abhishek and Gill if they bat for a bit of time they will make sure that will go up by a bit. Also, India will be wary of the fact that batting against the softer ball won't be easy on this pitch as they have seen in the first innings hence they would be hoping to make the most of this first six overs here.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has got the new ball. It is going to be a cracking chase; both Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill are in the middle. The first six overs are going to be crucial in this chase. Gill has had a quiet series so far and today is the day he would want to change that and if he gets going India will win this game in a cantor.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: It would have been the perfect moment for Sunil Gavaskar to be on commentary duties. The former India captain, over his long commentary career, is often known to get super frustrated when players make silly errors. Bowling no balls, not sliding the bat while completing a run, and so on. Mohammad Nawaz produced one of those bizarre moments on Sunday in the 19th over, as he made a poor excuse of an attempt to get back into the crease. The ball was hit by Salman Ali Agha straight to Varun Chakaravarthy at square leg. Despite Jasprit Bumrah holding his arm up to the fielder, asking him not to throw the ball, Varun went for a direct hit and missed it at the non-striker's end. The ball was gathered by Suryakumar Yadav, who took a moment as it seemed the ball was about to become dead. But the Indian captain saw what no one else did: Nawaz going walkabouts. So he unleased a throw that flicked the bails and Nawaz's reaction was too late. "I am speechless about the presence of mind as far as Nawaz is concerned," Wasim Akram said on air. It was, in all honesty, more about the absence of mind. It was a pretty eventful over too. A stunning yorker kept out by Nawaz before his brain-fade, then a six by Faheem Ashraf first ball, followed by yet another dropped catch on the night, this time Shubman Gill at deep midwicket. Bumrah, who had one of the more trying nights of his stellar career, just had a rueful smile at the end of it all.

Mohammad Nawaz has fallen here. That is one of those Instagram meme dismissals that go viral. That was poor and Nawaz and something the coach and skippers would be livid with. he completed the single and was looking for a second and charged back for a couple of steps, and Agha denied, and without looking to return to crease, he was wandering around, and Surya was sharp enough and hit the stumps, and Nawaz was out of the crease. That was quite a nothing knock from Nawaz. He needed a couple of boundaries to up his strike rate and make his innings good, but in the end he consumed the deliveries and threw his wicket due to a lack of awareness.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: For all the intent that Pakistan showed earlier in this match, two leaves outside the off stump in the 17th of the innings with six wickets in hand is one of the most bizarre things you’d see in a T20 innings irrespective of pitch conditions. Captain Salman Ali Agha not covering himself in glory there. Kuldeep Yadav had him in sixes and sevens that over, despite conceding a six earlier in the over.

This is a critical passage in this game. Pakistan is vulnerable here, and they can lose their way. They need to close these five overs quite cleverly. With the bowling options India have at their disposal, Pakistan can lose their way if they don't pick their bowlers rightly for these conditions to attack. A spare thought on Shivam Dube, who hardly bowls for Chennai Super Kings or for India in bilateral cricket. Today, when the side was under the pump, he came in and delivered a fabulous spell. Will he bowl all four? We have to wait and see, but his two wickets have definitely turned the momentum of this innings.

Surya has got two overs out of the form of Shivam Dube, which should compensate for some of the overs of spinners. Given how Hardik has bowled in that opening spell, he would be expected to complete his quote alongside Bumrah. The question will be how he will maneuver the overs of Kuldeep and Axar from here on. Kuldeep, after starting the tournament well, has gone off the boil in the last couple of matches. Batters have been able to get underneath him and get a few boundaries away. Well, well, what do we know as we update Kuldeep Yadav picked up Hussain Talat here.

This is a tough test for India here. Since the 2024 T20 World Cup they have been quite dominant and have not been tested in pressure situations. Suryakumar Yadav, the skipper, needs to find answers here on the go. The captaincy for him has been quite smooth sailing, but this counter assault from Pakistan does seem to take India by surprise. As we update, Dube has picked up the wicket for India. It is Ayub who tried to play the leg glance and got the top edge. Abhishek Sharma, running from the boundary at fine-leg, took a very good catch. Much-needed breakthrough for India that one.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: The hands of the players have come under far too much attention so far in the Asia Cup, whether they are being offered to shake or not. But in the first five overs of the Super 4s clash between India and Pakistan, they were in focus for different reasons: butter fingers. In the very first over, Sahibzada Farhan took on an outswinger from Hardik Pandya. The fuller-length ball was shaping away and the sliced drive went straight to Abhishek Sharma at third man. He was a bit late to react, and at the last instance, found himself having to dive forward. It still came at a catchable height but the Indian fielder let it slip through his hands, left shaking his head for the rest of the over. Former India coach Ravi Shastri called it a complacent effort, strong words. Then in the fifth over, Kuldeep Yadav put down an even simpler chance. Saim Ayub, who hadn't been able to buy a run so far in the tournament, should have been out for 4 as he mistimed a slog sweep off Varun Chakaravarthy. But Kuldeep made a meal out of the high catch at short fine leg. In the 8th over, Abhishek was guilty of dropping another, somewhat tougher, one as Farhan took on Varun towards long on. Abhishek went with one hand and tipped it over the fence.

Pritish Raj: The first wicket of the night brought displeasure from the Pakistan camp and broadcasters alike. Opener Farkhar Zaman started aggressively hitting two consecutive fours against Jasprit Bumrah in his first over. The intentions were clear to take on the bowlers from word go. However, his innings was cut short after Sanju Samson caught him behind the wicket in Hardik Pandya's second over.

But it was not a clear call. Hardik's off cutter found the edge of Fakhar's bat and Samson immediately claimed the catch. The on-field umpires referred it to the third umpire to check the legitimacy of the catch. The replays looked tricky as the ball was very close to the ground when Samson caught it. After checking the replays couple of times, once with the zoomed-in angle, the third umpire was convinced and ruled it out.

However, Zaman, along with the Pakistani camp including coach Mike Hesson and former pacer Waqar Younis on air, were unhappy with the decision. Waqar expressed his doubts, questioning the third umpire's decision. "I think I would want to see the replays more times as it looked to me that the ball bounced," Waqar said on the commentary. "That is why Fakhar was shocked." Sanjay Manjarekar later said, "The opinion in the commentary box is divided on whether it was a wicket or not."

Varun Chakarvarthy has come into the attack, and he created an opportunity as Saim Ayub slog swept a delivery, and the ball went high in the air, and it was a simple catch for Kuldeep Yadav at fine-leg, and he spilled it. It is the second opportunity India did not manage to take today. The first one was of Abhishek Sharma of Farhan in the first over. The side is looking a bit rusty here. They were not great against Oman on Friday, especially with the ball, and the way they have started here is not looking promising either. The Indian side has to tighten the screws if they have to restrict Pakistan to a chasable total if they keep dropping opportunities and bowl freebies. Pakistan has enough in its batting to put on a decent score.

Fakhar is gone here. It was a hard-length delivery, which Zaman hung his bat outside the off-stump, and the ball took the edge, and Samson claimed the catch. Unsure umpires sent it upstairs, and it did seem like the ball was close to the ground before getting into the gloves of Samson, but the umpire deemed it as fingers underneath and gave Zaman out. Well, if we did not have enough controversy already for the game, there is one for the netizens to explore. Nevertheless, a good breakthrough for India as Fakhar was looking quite dangerous.

Hardik Pandya created an opportunity in that opening over against Farhan and Abhishek Sharma at the third-man, who made a meal of the opportunity. It must be said that with modern-day athleticism, it was quite a simple catch. Farhan was the player who looked somewhat sorted when these sides met last week in the group stage. The interesting thing or change that Pakistan has made today is that they are opening with Fakhar Zaman today. This is quite a sensible move, if he gets going in the Powerplay, it would be hard for India to restrict Pakistan under a par total.

Just gets easier to bat in the second innings, nothing to do about the surface. It's about the weather. Both captains said they wanted to field first. It has played pretty good throughout the tournament. We have seen scores of 150-160. As the ball gets older, it does grip. Matches have been played here for almost 8-10 days here and it will assist spin. You got to get used to the conditions when you are batting first. Give yourself that extra bit of time to get used to the pace and bounce. Same nature of pitch for Sri Lanka v Bangladesh and 160 wasn't enough. If Pakistan want to make India sweat it will have to be in excess of 180-200 and that's not going to be easy

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

We'll bowl first. Looks a nice track and yesterday there was dew. Since first round we were thinking we're playing a knockout tournament, nothing changes. That was a completely different wicket (in Abu Dhabi). Quite normal, just another game. Bumrah and Varun come back for Arshdeep and Harshit

“If you follow other sports, you get to know how it feels when the team is performing really well. You see, the best teams are so strong that they have 15-20 players who can start any game. You see how they play against the small teams, how they react, the communication and the final decision-making is so quick. I love to watch them, admire them, watch their communication and connection between them, and how they lift each other.”

“Pakistan played 63 dot balls in their innings – that’s just over 10 overs of dots. Credit to the Indian bowlers. It’s sad to see players like Hasan Nawaz, Haris and our captain; they are talented players. But you need to pick your bowlers and read the situation. They were all chasing a strike rate of 150.”

“It’s just the way he (Kuldeep) bowls. They can’t read him. In the pre-show, I was talking to Sunny bhai (Sunil Gavaskar), who was a great batter. He said, ‘unless and until you can read him from the hand, you won’t be able to understand that type of bowling’. So that’s what happened. When they sweep against Kuldeep every second ball, it means you are not reading him,”

“You have to bowl at stumps at him, get the ball to come in to him a bit from a good length. That’s the only chance to dismiss him,” Misbah said.

“Or try an offspinner, if the pitch is like that where the ball is getting stuck. Like Saim Ayub.”

“You have to take the chance to get him out, you can’t think let us try giving less runs (yeh over nikaal-wa loon) but with that you wil get trapped. If you take his wicket, you can put pressure on India by taking out their main weapon. Like when you used to remove Rohit Sharma and the impact he used to have. So it’s mighty important for Pakistan to get him out.”

The Asia Cup 2025 has been a physically demanding tournament for players due to the hot and humid conditions in the UAE. Temperatures in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been a constant challenge, with Sunday's expected temperature hovering around 35-36°C during match hours.

Another significant factor has been dew, which makes bowling difficult in the second innings. While this would normally give an advantage to the team chasing, the low first-innings totals on the slow pitches have largely neutralized this effect. Despite the drop in temperature at night, dew continues to be a major talking point and could influence the outcome of matches.

“If I were Pakistan, I’ll just aim at the stumps when bowling and swing hard when batting against India. Because quality wise, I am unsure if they can do much. Will they pick Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy? Will India continue playing Shivam Dube at 8 and give him overs? The wicket is getting better so maybe if Pakistan score 160, it might be a good game,” said Ashwin.

“Also, one request to Pakistan – please don’t bat first because of the pressure of the contest. By batting first, you make it a no-contest straightaway. By getting bowled out for 150, you are making the second half unwatchable.”

“If Pakistan even competes in this game, it’ll be an upset. From their point of view, I just want to see Saim Ayub score some runs instead of getting out first ball because he is a good cricketer. There aren’t too many concerns to address for India. If I was India, I would want Pakistan to challenge them with the T20 World Cup around the corner,”

If we talk about rivalry [with Pakistan], I don't know what kind of rivalry you are talking about. After going on the ground, I feel that the stadium is full. And when the stadium is full, I tell my team and everyone that it is time for entertainment. So many people have come to watch the match, so you have to entertain everyone

Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Khushdil Shah, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed