India beat Pakistan by 5 wickets, lift Asia Cup trophy for record 9th time

This was the first time India and Pakistan clashed in the final of Asia Cup's 41 years history

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Riding on Tilak Varma's incredible half-century, fancied India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the summit showdown to win their second Asia Cup title in the T20 format (9th overall) at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

 

India bowled out Pakistan for a modest 146 and then chased down the target of 147 with two balls remaining.

 

Varma smashed an unbeaten 69 in 53 balls, while Shivam Dube contributed a breezy 22-ball 33 during a vital 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

 

Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav was the star of the show with excellent figures of 4/30 in four overs, while fellow spinners Varun Chakaravarthy (2/30), Axar Patel (2/26) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/25) were also among the wickets after India opted to bowl first.       

 

Sent in, Pakistan were well-served by the opening duo of Sahibzada Farhan (57 off 38 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (46 off 35 balls), who stitched together 84 runs in under 10 overs to lay the foundation for a big total.

 

However, the Indian spin trio of Varun, Kuldeep and Axar suddenly picked up a few wickets to quickly tighten the screws on Pakistan, who lost their last nine wickets for just 33 runs.

 

This was India's third victory over Pakistan in this edition of the continental event after winning in the league and Super 4s stages.

 

India Inning
150-5 (19.4 ov) CRR:7.63
Batter		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Abhishek Sharma	c H Rauf b F Ashraf	5	6	1	0	83.33
Shubman Gill	c H Rauf b F Ashraf	12	10	1	0	120
Surya Kumar Yadav (C)	c A Salman b S Afridi	1	5	0	0	20
N. Tilak Varma	Not out	69	53	3	4	130.19
Sanju Samson (WK)	c Sahibzada Farhan b A Ahmed	24	21	2	1	114.29
Shivam Dube	c S Afridi b F Ashraf	33	22	2	2	150
Rinku Singh	Not out	4	1	1	0	400
Extras	2 (b 0, Ib 0, w 2, nb 0, p 0)
Total	150 (5 wkts, 19.4 Ov)
Yet to Bat	Axar Patel,Kuldeep Yadav,Jasprit Bumrah,Varun Chakaravarthy
Bowler	O	M	R	W	WD	ECO
Shaheen Afridi	4	0	20	1	0	5
Faheem Ashraf	4	0	29	3	0	7.25
Mohammad Nawaz	1	0	6	0	0	6
Haris Rauf	3.4	0	50	0	1	13.64
Abrar Ahmed	4	0	29	1	1	7.25
Saim Ayub	3	0	16	0	0	5.33

 

 

Pakistan Inning
146-10 (19.1 ov) CRR:7.62
Batter		R	B	4s	6s	SR
Sahibzada Farhan	c TL Varma b V Chakaravarthy	57	38	5	3	150
Fakhar Zaman	c K Yadav b V Chakaravarthy	46	35	2	2	131.43
Saim Ayub	c J Bumrah b K Yadav	14	11	2	0	127.27
Mohammad Haris (WK)	c R Singh b A Patel	0	2	0	0	0
Agha Salman (C)	c S Samson b K Yadav	8	7	0	0	114.29
Hussain Talat	c S Samson b A Patel	1	2	0	0	50
Mohammad Nawaz	c R Singh b J Bumrah	6	9	0	0	66.67
Shaheen Afridi	lbw b K Yadav	0	3	0	0	0
Faheem Ashraf	c TL Varma b K Yadav	0	2	0	0	0
Haris Rauf	b J Bumrah	6	4	1	0	150
Abrar Ahmed	Not out	1	2	0	0	50
Extras	7 (b 1, Ib 2, w 4, nb 0, p 0)
Total	146 (10 wkts, 19.1 Ov)
Bowler	O	M	R	W	WD	ECO
Shivam Dube	3	0	23	0	0	7.67
Jasprit Bumrah	3.1	0	25	2	0	7.89
Varun Chakaravarthy	4	0	30	2	0	7.5
Axar Patel	4	0	26	2	0	6.5
Kuldeep Yadav	4	0	30	4	4	7.5
N. Tilak Varma	1	0	9	0	0	9

  India Leads the Pack with Most Asia Cup Titles  The Asia Cup stands as one of Asia’s most prestigious cricket tournaments, bringing together top cricketing nations in thrilling contests that fuel long-standing rivalries. Since its inception in 1984, the tournament has delivered countless unforgettable moments and iconic matches. 

 

India has been the most dominant force in Asia Cup history, securing a record nine championships. The team lifted the trophy in the years 1984, 1988, 1990–91, 1995, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2023 and most recently in 2025, when they defeated Pakistan in the final.

 

Sri Lanka closely follows with six titles, earned in 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014, and 2022. Pakistan has been crowned champions twice, in 2000 and 2012.

 

Despite putting up strong performances over the years, other participants like Bangladesh and Afghanistan are still in pursuit of their maiden title. 

Asia Cup winners and runner-ups list
Edition	Year	Winner	Won by	Runner-up	Host
1st	1984	India	N/A	Sri Lanka	UAE
2nd	1986	Sri Lanka	5 wickets	Pakistan	Sri Lanka
3rd	1988	India	6 wickets	Sri Lanka	Bangladesh
4th	1990-91	India	7 wickets	Sri Lanka	India
5th	1995	India	8 wickets	Sri Lanka	UAE
6th	1997	Sri Lanka	8 wickets	India	Sri Lanka
7th	2000	Pakistan	39 runs	Sri Lanka	Bangladesh
8th	2004	Sri Lanka	25 runs	India	Sri Lanka
9th	2008	Sri Lanka	100 runs	India	Pakistan
10th	2010	India	81 runs	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka
11th	2012	Pakistan	2 runs	Bangladesh	Bangladesh
12th	2014	Sri Lanka	5 wickets	Pakistan	Bangladesh
13th	2016	India	8 wickets	Bangladesh	Bangladesh
14th	2018	India	3 wickets	Bangladesh	UAE
15th	2022	Sri Lanka	23 runs	Pakistan	Sri Lanka
16th	2023	India	10 wickets	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka/Pakistan
17th	2025	India		Pakistan	UAE

 

An Asia Cup filled with controversies

 

While the tournament was expected to garner attention because of India and Pakistan rivalry that got heated up after the Pahalgam Terror attacks, both sides faced each twice leading upto the final with both ties filled with heated moments, controversies and Pakistan threatening to boycott the tournament in between as well.