India beat Pakistan by five wickets in Asia Cup final to win record ninth title, Tilak Varma stars

Punjab First News · 29 September 2025, 12:00 AM

A cricket match in progress at the stadium in Dubai — A 2009 match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where the Asia Cup final was played (file photo) (bilalmirza (Flickr) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)

India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday, September 28. It is India's record-extending ninth Asia Cup title.

Pakistan's openers Sahibzada Farhan (57) and Fakhar Zaman (46) put on 84, but from 113 for 1 the side collapsed to 146 all out in 19.1 overs, with Kuldeep Yadav taking 4 for 30.

India lost early wickets in reply, but Tilak Varma steadied the innings with an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls. With help from Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, India got home with two balls to spare.

Amritsar-born opener Abhishek Sharma was named Player of the Tournament after scoring 314 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of about 200, the most runs in a single edition of the T20 Asia Cup.

After the match, the Indian team refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council chief and Pakistan minister Mohsin Naqvi, leaving the presentation ceremony mired in controversy.