What does Monday, 15th September, 2025, bring? Office meetings? Term exams? Sure. All the best for those. But come cricket, there is plenty of action coming up. There is the sole double header of this tournament lined up, United Arab Emirates taking on Oman, at 12 pm GMT, in Abu Dhabi, while at 2.30 pm GMT, Hong Kong take on Sri Lanka in Dubai. Our buildup will begin much earlier, so do tune in early. But in addition to this, Namibia kickstart their 3-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe too! Do try and have some fun amidst the meetings and the exams. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

That ends another one-sided contest. We have been having quite a few in this Asia Cup, haven't we? India get a good break of 4 days before they play their final league game on Friday, 19th September, 2025, against Oman, in Abu Dhabi. Irrespective of this loss, Pakistan will back themselves to come back stronger in their last league game against the United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, 17th September, 2025, also in Dubai.

The victorious skipper of India, SURYAKUMAR YADAV, smiles when the crowd and Sanjay Manjrekar sing happy birthday for him. Calls this win as a great feeling and a perfect return gift for India. Admits that those things keep brewing in the mind and when you play such big games, you have yourself ready. On his last-ball six, Suryakumar says that he loved to stay not out till the end. On India-Pakistan rivalry, Yadav says that it is just another game for him and his team, Details that they come to the ground, prepare and that is the same for all oppositions. On his bowling attack which featured 4 spinners, SKY says that spinners played a huge role even in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Explains that fast bowlers set the tone but spinners control the match post the Powerplay and he is their fan. Ends on a personal note, saying that it is a perfect occasion to say that the Indian players stand by the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and express their solidarity. Wants to dedicate this win to India's armed forces who showed a lot of bravery and hopes that they contiue to inspire the nation.

India's KULDEEP YADAV has been adjudged THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH, his second in succession, for his 3/18 in 4 overs with the ball. 'Still, a lot of room for improvement', says Kuldeep! Honest, aye! Kuldeep says it was not much different and he just focused on the execution. Says you just have to see who the batter is, and react on what his strengths are. Highlights that he had the plans in mind and executed them. Adds the first ball is always a wicket-taking one and stresses that you have to try to bowl your best ball. He says that he doesn't feel on top of the world, but just feels that he has to work more hard on his bowling. Ends by saying that sometimes, he tries to bowl too many variations!

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Another key thing was the number of dot balls played by both teams. Pakistan were either all or nothing - meaning, they were just going for big hits but if they did not get those, they were just stuck at the crease. There was barely much effort done in rotating the strike. That's where India tutored them, showing that not every pitch is meant to go bang bang. This actually could have been a better contest had Pakistan managed to touch 150 - which could have come if they had converted 10-15 of their dot balls faced. It is an inexperienced batting lineup for sure, but given that so much T20 cricket is being played these days, nearly every batter is aware of the norms. Additionally, if the strike is rotated, the bowler tends to get frustrated and could give a couple of loose balls. Please stay tuned for the presentation.

Many times, a good start lays down the foundation for a good score, or a good chase. Pakistan were searching for early wickets but India did not allow those to come in easily. As in, they did lose Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma by the 4th over - but by then, had already got one-third of the runs required. The quickfire start from Abhishek Sharma just pushed Pakistan back mentally. After that brisk start, it was not as if India went bang bang. They played normal cricket post the Powerplay and played every ball on merit, giving respect to Pakistan's best bowler of the night - Abrar Ahmed. On the other hand, the others were attacked, and even though Saim Ayub picked up all the wickets to fall, it was not as if he kept the Indians under pressure. The 56-run stand between Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma just killed any kind of momentum that Pakistan were getting post the wicket of Abhishek. A comprehensive win.

The current world champions just strut their stuff. Bat first, bowl first, win toss, lose toss - it just doesn't matter for The Men In Blue. Jasprit Bumrah got down to business pretty early while the spinners just choked the batters later on. It was almost like a net session for the trio of Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, as they were barely tested, except for a bit in the last couple of overs. Just did not give any respite to Pakistan at any stage.

As much as there was a promotion about this marquee clash, it turned out to be anything but that. Pakistan supposedly won a good toss on a slowish deck. But as Ravi Shastri mentioned at the pitch report, to make use of the pitch, you need to have a good total on the board. And Pakistan had far from one. If only four batters cross double digits, with 2 of them being numbers 9 and 10, it pretty much tells the story about your batting. Pakistan were completely outclassed against a strong Indian bowling and never got their innings going, with just one partnership crossing 30. Their batting was a suspect in the triseries before this tournament as well, involving UAE and Afghanistan and coach Mike Hesson has a lot of work to do.

Done and dusted. Another sad advert for a big clash. Third successive win for India against Pakistan in T20Is, but across formats, their is their 6th victory on the trot. In fact, post that loss in the 2022 Asia Cup, the Indians have stayed unbeaten over their arch rivals in Men In Green.

Final over of the match? India are just a hit away. Sufiyan Muqeem to bowl. 2-0-21-0 so far.