Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill’s trademark aggression lifted India from an uninspiring day in the field as the Men in Blue romped home to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan to maintain their unbeaten run in the Asia Cup.
The win also made it four successive wins for India against Pakistan in T20Is, a bragging right it will readily take in the present context of the ‘no handshake’ era.
Abhishek got into the act right away, taking on the 172-run target with a first-ball six off Shaheen Afridi.
The left-hander went about his merry ways against leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, making full use of the favourable matchup by spraying the leg-side with boundaries, and brought up a 25-ball fifty with a drive through cover off Saim Ayub.
Gill was more intent on displaying his full range, and a true surface with even bounce played right into his ability to play a wide array of strokes. The delectable short-arm jab was unfurled in the fifth over, and Haris Rauf didn’t appreciate it.
SCORECARD | IND VS PAK SUPER FOURS CONTEST
Abhishek and Gill seemed to get under his skin, but the duo from Punjab didn’t let that trouble their rhythm as they plundered 69 runs in the PowerPlay.
There was a mild hiccup as India lost four wickets for 43 runs, but Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya saw it off and headed straight for the dressing room, leaving the opposition to shake hands amongst themselves once again.
But India’s strut after the match belied its initial struggles.
Hardik, hands clasped behind his back with his eyes boring into the pitch, cut a sorry figure after Shivam Dube came too far inside and the ball went over the rope at deep backward point for a six.
It was the fifth catch India should have taken and restricted Pakistan well below what it eventually got—171 for five.
AS IT HAPPENED | IND VS PAK SUPER FOURS HIGHLIGHTS
Abhishek, Gill, and Kuldeep Yadav had missed chances on the field, and Jasprit Bumrah was curiously off-colour after logging his most expensive spell in T20Is in almost three years. It was an unusually insipid show by India in the field; the shoulders drooped, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav tried to prop them up with a pat as they left the field.
To its credit, Pakistan also turned up with a renewed purpose, which spoke through its intent in the PowerPlay. The new opening pair in Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman turned the heat up in the very first over. Farhan sliced a ball that was shaping away, and Abhishek grassed the catch at third man. But the right-hander was at it again, lofting the next ball over mid-on for a couple.
Fakhar stepped out to Bumrah’s first ball of the match for two more through cover and collected successive boundaries, giving India’s pace ace the charge again. But the left-hander’s tryst with risk was short-lived. After making room and cutting the ball hard through cover-point off Hardik, he was caught behind, repeating the dose, with Sanju Samson pouching a catch that left Fakhar with a wry smile and some ruffled feathers in the Pakistan camp.
But even Saim, sitting on three consecutive ducks, didn’t let the intensity drop, and ended his rut with a pull to the square-leg boundary. His no-look slog-sweep off Varun Chakaravarthy was spilt by Kuldeep, and Farhan’s swipe outside off flew over slips in the same over.
India’s Shivam Dube, right, picked two wickets with his hard length to derail the Pakistan innings.
| Photo Credit:
AP
India’s Shivam Dube, right, picked two wickets with his hard length to derail the Pakistan innings.
| Photo Credit:
AP
A toe-ended pull through midwicket to end the PowerPlay was symptomatic of a side still coming to terms with a rebranded approach to the format, but a score of 55 for one in the first six overs justified the risk-benefit tradeoff.
The PowerPlay surge spilled over into the next four overs, after which it was reduced to a trickle. Farhan was handed a second life when Abhishek parried the ball over long-on, depriving Varun again. Kuldeep came in for some rough treatment too, when Ayub and Farhan stepped out to clear long-on in the same over.
Farhan completed a 34-ball half-century with a pulled six over wide long-on, and playing in the ‘V’ was a hallmark of Pakistan’s resurgence. Its batters accumulated 58 runs in 32 balls while playing straight without losing a wicket.
But despite the most honest of efforts, old habits sometimes kick in. Between the 10th and 17th overs, Pakistan endured a 39-ball boundary drought, with Dube lending the spinners a helping hand.
He bent his back, nudged the 130-kmph mark at times, and accounted for Farhan and Ayub with a hard length, which he consistently hit. The period also saw Abhishek redeem himself with a stunning take, as he ran in from backward square-leg and dived in front full-stretch to complete the catch.
An ill-informed reverse-sweep from Hussain Talat, and Mohammad Nawaz’s lackadaisical run out highlighted Pakistan’s late-overs slump, and despite Faheem Ashraf’s late strikes, Pakistan didn’t have enough.
Published on Sep 22, 2025
