India's much-anticipated Asia Cup 2025 Group A clash against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi proved to be a one-sided contest, with Suryakumar Yadav's men cruising
to a seven-wicket win over Salman Ali Agha's side on Sunday.
Put in to bowl first, India restricted Pakistan to a modest 127/9 in 20 overs and then made light work of the chase, wrapping it up in just 15.5 overs.
The gulf in quality between the two sides was stark, prompting sharp criticism from former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan. Taking a dig at Pakistan's lack of competitiveness, he remarked that even elite Indian domestic teams could outplay them. "If you ask which of our domestic teams can beat Pakistan, I know for sure Mumbai can beat them. Punjab can beat them. Next, which IPL team can beat Pakistan? A lot of them," Irfan told Sony Sports Network.
Pakistan fielded Shaheen Afridi as their only frontline pacer while relying largely on spin bowlers. In contrast, India's attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah alongside Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy, proved far more effective. Pakistan's spinners, however, failed to make an impact - barring all-rounder Saim Ayub, who managed three wickets.
Former Mumbai cricketer Abhishek Nayar also criticised Pakistan's lack of fight, suggesting the contest was little more than a formality for India. "We were thinking about how to build up the game. Pakistan came with spinners and did not have fast bowlers. Their bowling was different, but there was no actual difference. From the start to the end, after winning the toss and batting first to the chase, Pakistan were not in the competition at all. If India were playing versus India, and it was more of a practice match for the future," Nayar said.
Pakistan are now also in jeopardy of elimination from the Asia Cup 2025 as they have threatened to boycott their final group stage game against UAE.
