Asia Cup final: Shaheen, Faheem dent India early

Kuldeep Yadav’s four-wicket burst spearheaded India’s bowling fightback as Pakistan were skittled for just 146 in the Asia Cup 2025 final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Opting to field, skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s call proved decisive as his attack recovered strongly after a fiery opening stand.

Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman launched Pakistan to 84 without loss by the 10th over, putting early pressure on India.

Farhan, who continued his fine run against Jasprit Bumrah, top-scored with 57 off 38 balls, striking five boundaries and three sixes. Fakhar added 46 from 35, laced with two fours and two sixes.

But once Varun Chakravarthy broke the stand by removing Farhan, the innings unraveled. Kuldeep Yadav struck in the 13th over to dismiss Saim Ayub (14), before running through the middle order in a decisive spell.

Pakistan lost six wickets in just 25 balls, including captain Salman Ali Agha and all-rounders Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf, slumping from 113 for 1 to 134 for 8.

Kuldeep finished with 4 for 30, while Axar Patel (2 for 20), Bumrah (2 for 26), and Chakravarthy (2 for 29) shared the spoils.

Earlier, India have already defeated Pakistan twice in earlier stages of the tournament, the final was expected to be a different contest altogether.

This is the first time that the two arch-rivals are meeting in the final of the Asia Cup final.

Pakistan qualified for the final after defeating Bangladesh by 11 runs in a crucial Super Four match, effectively a semi-final.

Historically, Pakistan and India have faced each other in five tournament finals across various competitions. Pakistan leads this rivalry with three wins, while India has emerged victorious twice.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference, captain Salman expressed confidence in his team, saying: "We’re hopeful of a strong performance in the final. Our goal is to win the cup, and we won’t repeat past mistakes."

He acknowledged the pressure both teams face and hinted that Pakistan may have saved its best batting for the final. The playing XI, he said, will be finalised after assessing pitch conditions.

Meanwhile, India are missing their key all-rounder Hardik Pandya for the important game.

Teams

India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy

Pakistan XI: Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed