India outclass Pakistan to seal Super Four spot in Asia Cup

Pakistan’s batting once again collapsed like autumn leaves, as India secured a seven-wicket victory in the crucial Asia Cup clash to qualify for the Super Four. The winning side chased down the modest target of 128 runs with 25 balls to spare. Captain Suryakumar Yadav remained unbeaten on 47 runs, while all three wickets were claimed by Saim Ayub. Earlier, batting first, the Green Shirts posted 127 runs for the loss of nine wickets in the allotted overs. Sahibzada Farhan scored 40 and Shaheen Afridi remained unbeaten on 33. Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets.

At Dubai Cricket Stadium, the Indian openers began the chase of 128 in an aggressive manner, reaching 22 runs in just two overs. Saim dismissed Shubman Gill for 10 runs, with Haris effecting the stumping. Abhishek Sharma smashed a quickfire 31 before Faheem Ashraf caught him off Saim’s bowling. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma added 56 runs for the third wicket to seal the win. Tilak, after scoring 31, was bowled by Saim. Suryakumar remained unbeaten on 47, while Shivam Dube was not out on 10. The team achieved the target in 15.5 overs. Saim conceded 35 runs for his three wickets.

Earlier, both teams entered the contest without making changes. Pakistan captain Salman Agha won the toss and opted to bat first, but the decision backfired when two wickets fell for just six runs in eight balls. Saim Ayub, for the second consecutive match, was dismissed first ball—he attempted an aerial shot off Pandya, only for Bumrah to take the catch at deep backward point. For Mohammad Haris, the proverb “short-lived glory” proved true; after scoring a fifty against Oman, he managed just 3 runs here before Pandya caught him off Bumrah’s bowling. Fakhar Zaman was given out lbw for a duck off Bumrah, but a review saved him.

Sahibzada Farhan looked confident, hitting Bumrah for two sixes, though he narrowly escaped a caught-and-bowled dismissal. Their 39-run stand ended when Fakhar was dismissed for 17, caught by Tilak Varma off Axar Patel. In the very next over, Salman was adjudged lbw by Varun Chakravarthy, but review showed the ball missing the stumps. He could not capitalize and was caught by Abhishek off Patel for just 3. Pakistan’s batting came under pressure, going more than five overs without a boundary, before Sahibzada broke the drought with a six off Axar. Hasan Nawaz, dropped on 5 by Kuldeep off his own bowling, fell the very next ball to Patel. At 64, half the team was back in the pavilion. On the same score, Mohammad Nawaz was also declared lbw to the spinner. Sahibzada Farhan’s resistance ended soon after—he scored 40 off 44 balls with one four and three sixes before falling to Kuldeep, with Pandya taking the catch. Faheem Ashraf managed 11 before Varun trapped him lbw.

Pakistan’s century came in the 18th over. Sufyan hit two fours off Bumrah in the 19th over before being bowled for 10. Shaheen Afridi struck two sixes in the final over bowled by Pandya, finishing unbeaten on 33 from 16 deliveries. Abrar Ahmed remained not out on 0. Pakistan closed their innings at 127 for nine. Kuldeep Yadav claimed 3 wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel picked up two apiece.