Follow UsOn September 24 (Wednesday), Team India became the first team to book their place in the Asia Cup 2025 Final as they beat Bangladesh by 41 runs in Dubai to extend their unbeaten run in the competition.
Prior to Wednesday, the Men in Blue had waltzed past their opponents, but the clash against Bangladesh had its ebbs and flows, and India had to overcome a few setbacks to emerge victorious. One such setback was the fall-off with the bat in hand, as from 112/2 in 11 overs, they could only add 56 runs in the remaining 8 overs, as they finished on 168/6.
On paper, the target seemed ‘chaseable,’ still the bowlers did their job eventually as India ended up not just winning, but winning comprehensively, to book their place in the final.
In the aftermath of the clash, skipper Suryakumar Yadav reflected on the game and spoke about how, even on not-so-good batting days, 12-14 overs of good bowling would be enough to ensure the side’s victory.
“Looking at their bowling lineup, they had a left-arm spinner and a leg spinner. I think Dube [2 off 3 balls, promoted to No.3] was perfect for that occasion in that 7-15 overs range. But it didn't work, that's how things go,” Suryakumar said after the game.
“If the outfield would have been really fast, it would have been 180-185, but with the bowling lineup we have, if we bowl 12-14 good overs, we will win on most occasions.”
Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy took 5 wickets between them to derail the chase, but the show stealer on the night was once again Abhishek Sharma, who hit 75 off 37 balls to set up victory for India in the first innings. Abhishek has crossed the 30-run mark in every innings in this Asia Cup so far, and this was his second consecutive 70+ score, following 74 off 39 balls against Pakistan on Sunday.
Abhishek had a slow start - he was 9 off 9 balls at one point - but once he put the foot on the accelerator, he never looked back.
“This was a fresh wicket, I wanted to have a look, the ball was swinging and seaming. So me and Shubman decided to have a look and then go,” Abhishek, Player of the Match, said of his approach on the night.
“I always wanted to go with the field, I always see the field and then go for my shots. I want to play according to the field. I have done a lot of work in the practice sessions, that is a time when the batter gets to play a lot of balls.”
The youngster spoke about how he does not have a pre-fixed approach, and how he usually ‘goes with the flow’.
“I got the job done for my team, I have said before also, I go with the flow. When it's in my range, I go after it even if it's the first ball and try to get the powerplay for my team,” he said.
“In a few matches, I wanted to go after the first ball because there are certain bowlers who want to get a wicket off the first ball.”
India will take on the winner of the Pakistan vs Bangladesh clash today, in the final in Dubai on September 28 (Sunday).