The highly-anticipated India versus Pakistan clash in the 2025 Asia Cup on Sunday, September 14, failed to live up to its hype. The Men in Blue annihilated
Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to take one step closer to the Super-Four stage of the tournament. On Monday, the UAE beat Oman to help India confirm their position in the next round of the eight-team event.
Pakistan could only muster 127/9 in their 20 overs after opting to bat first on Sunday. In reply, India romped home in 15.5 overs with seven wickets to spare. After Kuldeep Yadav starred with the ball, bagging a three-for, captain Suryakumar Yadav took his team to victory, smashing an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls.
After the lopsided contest came to an end, Irfan Pathan opined that India's domestic teams like Mumbai and Punjab could defeat the current Pakistan side. The 2007 T20 World Cup winner also feels that many Indian Premier League teams could get the better of Salman Ali Agha's men.
"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," Pathan said on Sony Sports Network.
More of a practice match for the future: Abhishek Nayar
Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said that while Pakistan stuffed their bowling attack with a plethora of spinners, the ploy didn't make any difference whatsoever. The 41-year-old said that the match seemed more like a practice match for the future of the Indian team.
"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 end, after winning the toss and batting first to the chase, Pakistan were not in the competition at all. India were playing versus India, and it was more of a practice match for the future," Nayar reflected in the same conversation with Pathan.
