India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in their Asia Cup 2025, Group A match in Dubai on Sunday. Suryakumar Yadav-led India dominated the contest, which was already very contentious because many Indians had called for a boycott. Pakistan were held to 127/9 in 20 overs after they won the toss and chose to bat. India in response chased down the target in just 15.5 overs with skipper Suryakumar Yadav smashing an unbeaten 47.
Pakistan displayed an underwhelming show as their batters completely failed to withstand the Indian attack-led by spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Sahibzada Farhan and Shaheen Afridi were the only players to score 44 and 33* runs, respectively, while others failed to cross even the 15-run mark.
Pakistan legend Wasim Akram blasted Salman Ali Agha and company after the game for trying a sweep shot against Kuldeep Yadav without accurately assessing his action.
"It's just the way he bowls. They can't read him. In the pre-show, I was talking to Sunny bhai, who was a great batter. He said 'unless and until you can read him from the hand, you won't be able to understand that type of bowling'. So that's what happened. When they sweep against Kuldeep every second ball, it means you are not reading him," Akram noted during an interaction on Sony Sports.
Akram went on to voice his disappointment at Salman Ali Agha and Hasan Nawaz's failure against Indian spinners. "Pakistan played 63 dot balls in their innings - that's just over 10 overs of dots. Credit to the Indian bowlers. It's sad to see players like Hasan Nawaz, Haris and our captain; they are talented players. But you need to pick your bowlers, read the situation. They were all chasing a strike-rate of 150," said Akram.
Besides Suryakumar, Abhishek Sharma smashed 31 off 13 balls, while Tilak Varma also contributed with run-a-ball 31.
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