Dubai, Sep 22: Abhishek Sharma smashed a scintillating 74 off 39 balls after some fine restrictive bowling by the spinners as India clinched a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in a Super Fours clash of the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

The result also marked India’s highest successful chase against Pakistan in T20Is, as the reigning world champions maintained their unbeaten run in the competition. Sahibzada Farhan top-scored with 58, while Faheem Ashraf added late impetus with an unbeaten 20 off eight balls, as Pakistan posted 171/5 in their 20 overs.

Pakistan looked set to get a much bigger total after racing to 91/1 in the first 10 overs, with Sahibzada Farhan, who hit 58, sharing a 72-run stand with Saim Ayub for the second wicket. But Pakistan lost momentum once Shivam Dube was introduced into the attack.

Dube, along with Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, applied the brakes effectively to stifle Pakistan’s scoring, as only 38 runs were made between overs 11 and 17. Though Pakistan did recover some ground in the final three overs, yielding 42 runs, it still gave the feel of an underwhelming total.

India’s pursuit of 172 began with intent as Abhishek hooked the very first ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi for six, setting the tone for a dominant chase. Alongside Shubman Gill, who hit a brisk 47 off 28 deliveries, the duo stitched a match-defining 105-run opening stand that left Pakistan searching for answers.

Despite a brief lull, Tilak Varma ensured a smooth finish to the chase with an unbeaten 30 off 19 balls, as India reached home with seven balls to spare. Both Varma and Pandya quietly walked off without shaking hands with the Pakistani side and entered the Indian dressing room, full of jubilation.

India’s chase began on the front foot as Abhishek hooked Shaheen Shah Afridi’s bouncer over fine leg for six. Gill got going by sweeping and cutting Saim Ayub for consecutive boundaries before lofting and flaying Afridi for another brace of fours.

Tension simmered when Gill pointed towards Afridi at the end of the third over, indicating where he had just struck him. Abhishek then tore into Abrar Ahmed, pulling and swinging for four and six, before both openers picked up a boundary each off Rauf.

After Abhishek heaved Ayub for four, Gill late-cut him through the gap between point and short third man, before rocking back to unleash a short-arm pull through mid-wicket for his boundaries, as India ended the powerplay at 69/0 – the best score in this phase of the ongoing competition.

Abhishek carted Abrar for two sixes - one dropped by Sahibzada Farhan at long-off - and brought up his fifty in just 24 balls with a perfectly timed cover-drive for four off Ayub. But just after an early drinks break, taken as Gill received treatment for cramps, Pakistan struck twice in quick succession.

Faheem Ashraf jagged one back sharply to castle Gill through the gate, while a fat leading edge off Suryakumar Yadav’s flick was caught at deep third man off Rauf’s bowling.

Abhishek shook off a brief post-fifty lull by collecting two boundaries off Ashraf, and then lofted Abrar over wide long-on for six. But he soon mistimed a pull off the wrist spinner’s wide googly and holed out to long-on.

With India needing only 49 off 46 balls, Varma and Sanju Samson hung around to keep the scoreboard ticking. Though a scratchy Samson was castled by Rauf, Tilak and Hardik Pandya nudged the ball around calmly for boundaries to take India home.

Previously, Farhan’s 58 was the backbone of Pakistan’s innings, marked by clever use of the crease and calculated footwork. The opener regularly manufactured shots and disrupted India’s lengths, especially during the powerplay, when he took the attack to an off-colour Jasprit Bumrah, who conceded 34 runs in his first three overs.

Farhan survived an early scare when Abhishek dropped his catch in the first over off Pandya. The move to promote Fakhar Zaman began well - he flicked Bumrah for four, then danced down the pitch to drive him for another boundary.

But Zaman’s promising start was cut short in the third over when he edged a slower delivery from Pandya that just carried to Samson, with the third umpire confirming the edge was evident.

Coming at three, Saim Ayub got his first runs of the competition by pulling Pandya for a boundary, before earning a reprieve on four when Kuldeep dropped him at short fine leg off Chakaravarthy.

Farhan remained solid at the other end, smacking Bumrah for four boundaries and slog-sweeping Chakaravarthy for another, as Pakistan ended the powerplay at 55/1. After Abhishek parried a tough chance over long-on for six, Farhan and Ayub put Kuldeep under pressure with a maximum each.

Farhan brought up his fifty in 34 balls by rocking back to pull Axar Patel for a massive six. But with boundaries drying up, India began to make inroads. Ayub top-edged a pull to a forward-diving Abhishek at fine leg off Dube, Hussain Talat mistimed a reverse sweep to short third man off Kuldeep, and Farhan lost grip while trying to heave Dube and was caught at extra cover.

Pakistan’s back-end revival began with Salman Agha lofting a googly from Kuldeep over long-off for six, followed by Mohammad Nawaz swatting and edging Dube for six and four. But India responded as a direct hit from Kuldeep ran Nawaz out for 21.

After Ashraf swatted a Bumrah full toss for six, India nearly had him if Gill hadn’t dropped his catch at deep mid-wicket. That miss proved costly as Ashraf edged and carved Pandya for four and six to take Pakistan past 170, which wasn’t enough to stop India from earning a clinical win.

Brief scores: Pakistan 171/5 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 58, Saim Ayub 21; Shivam Dube 2-33, Hardik Pandya 1-29) lost to India 174/4 in 18.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma 74, Shubman Gill 47; Haris Rauf 2-26, Faheem Ashraf 1-31) by six wickets.

(IANS)

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