Dubai, September 29
Actor Raghav Juyal, brimming with excitement, watched the India-Pakistan Asia Cup final live at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and celebrated wholeheartedly as the Men in Blue emerged victorious.
After exiting the stadium, Raghav briefly spoke with ANI and expressed his happiness over Team India's win.
He said,"main apne bacchon ko bataunga ki main ye legendary match dekhne aaya tha. Bilkul kamaal ho gaya." (I felt so good today. I will tell my children that I came to watch this legendary match. It was absolutely amazing.)
In the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday, the Suryakumar-led side reduced the Men in Green from 113-1 to 146 all out. India's ball-tweaking troika, Axar Patel (2-26), Varun Chakravarthy (2-30) and Kuldeep Yadav (4-30), wreaked havoc on Dubai's slow-paced strip against Pakistan in the final and combined to scalp eight wickets to wrap up the Men in Green's innings on 146.
Varun set the tone by breaking the 84-run opening stand by dismissing the threatening Sahibzada Farhan on 57(38). Axar Patel capitalised in the middle while Kuldeep broke Pakistan's backbone by tearing through their power-hitters.
India won the toss and elected to field first. An 84-run stand between Sahidzada Farhan (57 in 38 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Fakhar Zaman (46 in 35 balls, with two fours and two sixes) gave Pakistan the headstart they needed.
However, thanks to the magic of spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4/30) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/30) in the middle overs, Pakistan faced a collapse from 113/1 in 12.4 overs to 146 all out in 19.1 overs, with Bumrah (2/25) also getting the final two wickets.
During the run-chase, India sank to 20/3 due to an initial burst from Faheem Ashraf (3/29). However, Tilak Varma (69* in 53 balls, with three fours and four sixes), stitched a 57-run stand with Sanju Samson (24 in 21 balls, with two fours and a six) to bring India back into the game.
Shivam Dube (33 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes) delivered some carnage with Tilak, solidifying India's hold on the game despite some occasional brilliance from Pakistan. In the end, it was Rinku Singh, who was featuring in his first Asia Cup match, who got the chance to hit the winning runs on the first ball.
Tilak walked away with the 'Player of the Match' honours and India secured their second T20I Asia Cup title and overall ninth, including ODI editions.
- ANI
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