India flatten Pakistan in Dubai: pace burst, spin squeeze, chase on rails
Seven wickets, 4.1 overs to spare, and a buzzing Dubai night that felt one-sided long before the final blow. India didn’t just beat Pakistan in this rivalry game—they controlled every phase and turned it into a statement win in the Asia Cup 2025. A tidy target of 128 was brushed aside in 15.5 overs, leaving Group A tilted firmly India’s way.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha opted to bat first on a surface with hairline cracks and dry patches that screamed “spinners later.” The plan was clear: put runs in the bank and let the pitch age. The problem? India’s new ball assault didn’t wait for the pitch to help.
Hardik Pandya ripped out Saim Ayub with his very first legal delivery, a hard-length ball that climbed and hurried the left-hander. Jasprit Bumrah followed with that familiar nip just outside off to remove Mohammad Haris. Within minutes, Pakistan were 6 for 3 inside the powerplay—shell-shocked, tentative, and already playing catch-up against a bowling unit that smelled a kill.
From there, India didn’t over-attack. They just held a ruthless line. Fields were set with a deep square, a ring on off, and a catching mid-wicket waiting for miscues. Pakistan’s top order tried to poke gaps that weren’t there, and every dot ball made the next shot riskier.
Then the spinners walked in and turned the screws. Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist spin was all angles and deception—3 for 18 in four overs without ever feeling rushed. He varied pace cleverly, dragged lengths just short to the right-handers, and had the middle order pinned. Axar Patel matched him for control from the other end, firing in those skiddy arm balls and angling across the lefties for 2 for 18. Between them, 5 wickets for 36 in eight overs told the story: strangulation, not just strikes.
Mohammad Nawaz’s first-ball dismissal summed up the mood. Kuldeep sent down a googly that dipped late, Nawaz played for the stock ball, and the off stump lit up. Pakistan sunk to 64 for 6 in 12.5 overs, and the scoreboard looked stuck in slow motion.
Only Sahibzada Farhan refused to fold. He scratched out a 40 off 44 with one boundary and three clean sixes, mostly when he got length and width to free his arms. It wasn’t flashy, but it gave Pakistan a spine. He battled the dots, picked moments to hit, and kept hope alive even as partners came and went.
Late on, Shaheen Shah Afridi swung hard and swung well—33 off 16 in a counterpunch that injected some noise into the innings. He targeted the shorter boundary, muscled anything in his arc, and dragged Pakistan to 127 for 9. Respectable? Maybe. Defendable on this outfield against this batting lineup? Not really.
India’s chase began with a burst. Abhishek Sharma flew out of the blocks, 31 off 13, punishing Shaheen’s fuller lengths and anything remotely overpitched. He drove straight, pulled square, and forced Pakistan to spread early. The intent was obvious: kill the chase in the first six overs, then cruise.
Shubman Gill played second fiddle while the ball did a bit under lights. No panic, no lapses. Once the new ball threat faded, the script slipped into Suryakumar Yadav’s hands—and he doesn’t waste scripts like these.
SKY was uncluttered at the crease—47 not out off 37. He picked gaps behind point, threaded singles through cover, then unfurled the loft when the field crept in. Tilak Varma’s 31 gave the chase glue in the middle overs; the pair ran hard, kept the asking rate under six, and left Pakistan’s bowlers chasing plans rather than executing them.
The finish was fittingly emphatic: Suryakumar sealed it with a six, 131 for 3, and a 7-wicket win with 4.1 overs untouched. It felt methodical, almost cold. The best chases often do.
Why it mattered, how it was won, and the road ahead
This wasn’t just a win; it was a template. India’s fast bowlers attacked the top with hard lengths, the spinners smothered the middle, and the batters took risk early to break the game—then played percentage cricket to close it. On a dry Dubai pitch with uneven bounce, that’s as close to a perfect plan as you’ll see.
Kuldeep Yadav, Player of the Match for the second game running (he took 4 for 7 against UAE), is running hot. His rhythm is clean, his seam position is tight, and he’s landing the googly on cue. When the wrist-spinner is in this groove, captains can park sweepers and dare batters to hit against the turn. Few do it well. Pakistan didn’t.
Axar Patel’s numbers can get overshadowed, but the left-armer set up Kuldeep’s wickets by shutting down singles and firing darts at the pads. The pair worked in tandem: Axar for squeeze, Kuldeep for strike. It’s a pattern India may ride deep into the tournament, especially on used decks.
For Pakistan, the batting felt stuck between caution and aggression. Early wickets happen in T20s, but the rebuild never came. They couldn’t rotate through the middle—too many dots against spin—and when the big shots arrived, they often followed a boundary with a brain fade. Farhan’s resistance and Shaheen’s burst kept the numbers tidy; they didn’t change the balance of the match.
Captain Salman Agha’s decision to bat first will draw debate. The logic was sound: scoreboard pressure in a marquee clash. But on a pitch that got drier, not slower, and with India stacked with wrist spin, the safer move might have been to chase and keep control of tempo. Hindsight is 20/20, sure, but the toss felt bigger as the night wore on.
India’s batting choices were measured. Abhishek’s early burst forced Pakistan to retreat from attacking fields. Suryakumar’s calm dismantling—picking the fifth ball of the over to hit, not the first—kept risk low. Tilak’s maturity at the other end meant there was never a wobble. The chase was designed to avoid a cluster of wickets, and it did.
Key numbers from the night tell you why it was one-way traffic:
- Pakistan 6 for 3 in the powerplay: early damage that never healed.
- Spin choke: Kuldeep 3/18, Axar 2/18; combined 5 for 36 in 8 overs.
- India’s chase rate: 131/3 in 15.5 overs—a healthy net run-rate nudge.
- Rivalry ledger: India have now won 10 of 14 T20Is vs Pakistan; 3 of 4 in Asia Cup T20s.
The wider picture? India move to 4 points from two games in Group A and look settled. The roles are clear, the bowling mix is balanced, and the middle order is in rhythm. Pakistan, on 2 points after beating Oman earlier, remain in the hunt but need cleaner starts and a firmer plan against spin. You can’t win many T20s if your middle overs read like a traffic jam.
There’s also the Dubai factor. The outfield is quick, the square offers multiple surfaces, and second innings often feel easier when the ball skids on. India read that, backed their bowlers to front-run, and kept the chase short. Pakistan will want a rethink on match-ups and intent, especially in the first six and the middle-overs rotation.
One subplot worth watching is India’s spin strategy. With Kuldeep in form and Axar offering control, they can flex a third option if required, or tilt towards an extra seamer depending on the strip. That flexibility, more than any one performance, is what makes them hard to pin down in tournament play.
For Pakistan, personnel isn’t the only question; it’s philosophy. Are they building around anchors who bat deep, or stacking hitters and trusting variance? The answer seemed muddled here. Farhan’s fight was admirable, but it needed a partner through overs 7–13 when Kuldeep and Axar were in full strangle mode.
On nights like this, little things snowball. India’s catching was sharp, their ground fielding kept twos to ones, and their bowlers avoided freebies—few wides, no cheap overthrows. Pakistan leaked moments: a misfield here, a length miss there. Against a team as drilled as India, margins like that turn into gaps.
So the rivalry moves on, but the tone for now is clear: India look organized and hungry; Pakistan need answers against spin and a bolder plan at the top. The tournament has time to twist, as it always does. But in Dubai, under lights, India made the night feel very short.
