What an electrifying night it was at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 28, 2025, as India clinched their ninth Asia Cup title, defeating archrivals Pakistan by five wickets in a final that will be remembered for both its on-field drama and off-field tensions. The stadium, packed with roaring fans from both nations, bore witness to a contest that not only lived up to its billing but also set new precedents—some celebratory, others contentious—in the storied rivalry between these two cricketing giants.
India’s path to this historic win was anything but straightforward. Chasing a seemingly modest total of 147, the Men in Blue found themselves in deep trouble almost immediately, losing three wickets in the first three overs. Abhishek Sharma, the tournament’s top run-scorer, was dismissed for just five, followed swiftly by Shubman Gill and captain Suryakumar Yadav, who capped off a disappointing tournament with only 72 runs to his name. Pakistan’s seamers, led by Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Afridi, had the Indian top order reeling at 20-3 after four overs. Was this going to be another chapter in Pakistan’s storied upsets?
But as so often happens in cricket, a new hero emerged. Tilak Varma, calm and composed under pressure, anchored the innings with an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls. He struck three fours and four sixes, including a crucial maximum off Haris Rauf in the final over, and never once looked rattled by the occasion. "It is one of the best innings of my life," Varma said after the match. "It was a bit pressured, but I wanted to stay in and finish the game." His partnerships first with Sanju Samson (24 off 21 balls, adding 57 off 50 together) and then with Shivam Dube (33 off 22 balls, with a 60-run stand in 40 deliveries) were the backbone of India’s recovery. Dube’s two sixes and two fours kept the chase alive, while Samson’s measured approach steadied the nerves during the middle overs.
The final moments were pure theatre. India needed 10 runs from the last over, with Rauf charging in for Pakistan. Varma dispatched the first two balls for eight runs, including his fourth six, leaving just two to win. Rinku Singh, facing his first ball of the tournament, coolly struck a four to seal the victory with two balls to spare. What a way to finish! The Indian dugout erupted, but what followed was anything but a typical celebration.
Off the field, the tension between the two teams was palpable. For the third time in the tournament, players from India and Pakistan refused to shake hands after the match—a stark reminder of the off-field strains that have shadowed their encounters. The rift extended to the trophy presentation: India’s players did not reappear to lift the trophy, effectively boycotting the ceremony. According to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, the team refused to accept the winner’s trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Captain Suryakumar Yadav remarked, "It’s one thing that I have never seen in my career that a champion team is denied its trophy." The snub, unprecedented in recent cricket history, sent ripples through the sporting world and reignited debate about the politicization of cricket between the two nations.
The context for this tension is significant. Just months earlier, India and Pakistan had engaged in a brief military conflict—a fact referenced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he congratulated the players on social media. Even before this, matches between the two sides have been restricted to neutral venues, and the Asia Cup final marked the first time these teams met in a final since the tournament’s inception in 1984. The rivalry, always fierce, has rarely felt more loaded than it did on this balmy Dubai night.
Turning back to the cricket, Pakistan’s innings was a tale of two halves. Sent in to bat, they started brightly, with Sahibzada Farhan (57 off 38) and Fakhar Zaman (46 off 35) putting on a commanding opening stand of 84. At 113-1 with 44 balls left, Pakistan looked set for a total well above par. But the wheels came off spectacularly. Kuldeep Yadav, India’s left-arm wrist spinner, turned the game on its head with a spell of 4-30, dismissing key batsmen including Salman Agha, Shaheen Afridi, and Faheem Ashraf. Pakistan lost their last nine wickets for just 33 runs, crashing to 146 all out in 19.1 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel chipped in with two wickets apiece, as the Indian bowlers capitalized on some poor shot selection and mounting pressure.
For Pakistan, the disappointment was acute. Captain Salman Agha admitted, "It is a tough pill to swallow. We couldn’t rotate the strike properly, and that is the reason we didn’t get the score we wanted. We need to sort out our batting." Only Saim Ayub, with 14, reached double figures apart from the openers, highlighting just how dramatic the collapse was. The powerplay had been promising, with 45 runs scored without loss, and Farhan’s fifty—his second of the tournament, both against India—seemed to set the tone for a big total. But once the wickets started falling, there was no way back.
India’s victory marks their second T20 Asia Cup title after 2016 and their ninth overall, a record in the competition’s history. The final also saw a few notable team changes: Hardik Pandya missed out due to a niggle, replaced by Rinku Singh, while Bumrah and Shivam Dube returned to the XI. Pakistan fielded an unchanged lineup, sticking with the side that had brought them to the brink of a famous win.
In the end, the 2025 Asia Cup final will be remembered as much for its cricketing drama as for the wider political and sporting context. The action on the field was gripping, the performances heroic, and the atmosphere tense. Yet, the refusal to shake hands and the boycott of the trophy presentation will leave lingering questions about the state of this great rivalry. For now, though, India can savor a hard-earned triumph, while Pakistan must regroup and reflect on what might have been.
