India won all matches of the tournament to lift the Asia Cup 2025
2025 witnessed India winning three major trophies in cricket across men’s and women’s
categories. And while women winning their maiden ICC World Cup trophy hogged maximum limelight, the Asia Cup trophy definitely grabbed more headlines, negative of course, because of the controversies due to the bitterness between India and PAK on the field.
However, despite all the controversies, exchanges of words, poor gestures, and more, the Indian players kept their nerves throughout the game, winning all seven games to take the trophy.
As the year comes to an end, let us recap the heroic individual performances of players one match at a time.
Kuldeep & Dube
(Credit- NDTV Sports)
India opened its Asia Cup T20 campaign against the United Arab Emirates with a nine-wicket victory, thanks to the terrific bowling performances of Kuldeep Yadav and Shivam Dube. Bowling first, Kuldeep and Shivam picked four and three wickets, respectively, ending UAE’s innings at 57 runs. The target was easily chased by Abhishek Sharma, who scored 30 runs off 16 balls, whereas Gill made 20 off nine balls.
Kuldeep & Sharma
(Credit- Livemint)
India’s second match was against PAK, with the Green Team batting first but contained by Indian bowlers, especially Kuldeep Yadav, who took three wickets. PAK batters had no way of tackling the Indian bowling line-up and managed only 127 runs. In response, Abhishek Sharma scored 31 runs off 13 balls at a strike rate of over 230, which helped India chase the target by seven wickets and 25 balls to spare.
Sharma, Samson & Varma
(Credit- Firstpost)
In the third game, India went against Oman. Batting first, Abhishek Sharma scored 38 runs off 15 balls, followed by Sanju Samson’s 56 and Tilak Varma’s 29 runs, helping India post a total of 188 runs. Surprisingly, the Indian bowlers had little success against Oman’s batting line-up as they came very close to the target, closing the book at 167 runs and losing by 21 runs.
Sharma, Gill & Varma
(Credit- NDTV Sports)
Unlike the first clash, the second clash between India and PAK saw PAK batters better prepared against Indian bowlers, putting on a target of 171 at the expense of five wickets. However, the PAK bowlers still had no method to tackle the Indian batters, as Abhishek Sharma hit 74 off 39 balls, Shubman Gill added 47 off 28 balls, and Tilak Varma scored 30 off 19 balls. The three players' explosive strike rates helped India chase the target with seven balls to spare.
Sharma, Pandya & Kuldeep
(Credit- Khel Now)
The fifth game of the India series saw the Men in Blue take on Bangladesh. Batting first, Abhishek Sharma once again lit the stage on fire, hitting 75 runs in 37 balls, whereas Shubman Gill made 29 runs in 19 deliveries. Hardik Pandya also joined the party with his willow, hitting 38 runs in 29 deliveries, taking India’s total to 168 runs. In the second innings, Kuldeep Yadav was the star bowler with three wickets to his name, helping Bangladesh fold to merely 127 runs.
Sharma, Samson & Singh
(Credit- NDTV Sports)
The only match in the tournament that became a thriller of sorts was between India and Sri Lanka in the Super 4 round. Batting first, India’s Sharma, Varma and Samson scored 61, 49 and 39 runs, respectively, enabling India to post a target of 202 runs. Unfortunately, the Indian bowlers failed to contain the Sri Lankan batters, who drew the game and forced a Super Over. Fortunately, in the Super Over, Arshdeep Singh rose to the occasion and allowed Sri Lanka to score only two runs, which were easily chased by the Men in Blue.
Kuldeep, Varma & Dube
(Credit- Indian Express)
In the final, India once again clashed with PAK, and as usual, PAK had no answer against India’s bowling and batting prowess. Batting first, PAK managed only 146 runs as Kuldeep Yadav ploughed through their batting order, dismantling them with ease. In response, India had a wobbly start, losing three early wickets, but Tilak Varma scored a heroic 69 off 53, receiving support from Dube’s 33 runs in 22 balls, helping India win the game and lift the trophy.
The year may have come to an end, but the memories of the Asia Cup 2025 will forever be etched in our minds because of the controversies and India’s three back-to-back victories against PAK, handing them a humiliating experience on the world stage.
