India were in a spot of bother. With the scorecard reading 25/3 in 5.2 overs, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson were in the early stage of India’s recovery in the chase of 147 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup
2025 final on Sunday. And then came a taunt.
Pakistani wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, hoping to cash in on the pressure and trigger a rash shot from Tilak, taunted the rising India star by taking a shot at him and his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.
“Yeh Mumbai nahi hai. Yeh IPL nahi hai. (This is not Mumbai (Indians), and this is not the IPL),” Haris chirped.
They were saying to Tilak “Ye mumbai nahi hai, iPl nahi hai”
He replied with bat 🤣😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/2LvdR8iftl— ROYAL BHARAT (INDIAN)🇮🇳 (@royal_mogile) September 29, 2025
However, the 22-year-old Tilak kept his calm and remained focus on rebuilding the innings by rotating the strike and avoiding unnecessary risk. The patient approach paid off in the end as he peeled off a memorable half-century and saw through the chase in the final over with India winning the finale by five-wickets.
Tilak’s Special Knock
Tilak struck an unbeaten 69 off 53, an innings featuring three fours and four sixes and it was the centerpiece of a dramatic turnaround from the Indian team. After opting to bowl first, India at one stage were dealing with the possibility of chasing a big total when Pakistani openers stitched an 84-run stand.
At 113/1, Pakistan were primed for a late surge but then India spinners combined to trigger a massive collapse to skittle them for 146 in 19.1 overs.
Pakistan then staged a comeback when they got rid of in-form opener Abhishek Sharma (5) in the second over before also accounting for Suryakumar Yadav (1) and Shubman Gill (12) in quick succession.
Tilak and Samson then added 57 runs for the fourth wicket to settle nerves in the Indian camp. Shivam Dube then provided the acceleration after Samson’s exit.
Rinku Singh, playing in his first match of the tournament, struck a boundary off the very first-ball he faced to seal the deal.
