India stood their ground to defend their Asia Cup title on Sunday beating Pakistan by five wickets in a tussle in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The triumph was the exclamation point to a perfect campaign by the 2012 champions who did not lose a single game in the tournament and beat their bitterest rivals thrice in the process.
Pakistan appeared to be in command early following its 84 run opening stand by Sahibzada Farhan (57) and Fakhar Zaman (46). But this was followed by utter collapse. Between 113-1, Pakistan disgraced down to 146 all out to lose nine wickets off a mere 33 runs. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav was in the spotlight taking a great 4-30 in the left arm and the other players who had great support in the game were Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah both with two wickets each.
India did not even begin its hunt on a good note. They have already lost opener Abhishek Sharma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav in the initial 10 balls and soon fell behind 20-3 when Shubman Gill stepped out. However, Tilak Varma rose to the occasion when it mattered most with an award winning 69 not out. He was aided by Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33), who broke a couple of huge hits towards the end of the game.
The match was on the edge, India required 10 off the last over by Haris Rauf. Varma closed it with a flourish, and fired a six that was the cause of vast rejoicing in the Indian camp.
Vice-captain Gill attributed the difference to the fact that the team remained relaxed in high pressure situations. It was not that big of a target but three wickets in the first few overs are never easy to lose. The alliances with Sanju and then Dube reaching those half-dozen sixes were extremely significant, he added.
The victory brought India their ninth Asia Cup and again an emphasis on their supremacy in the shortest format.
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