Nerve-shattering final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Cricket Talk By V.N. Prasad

At the outset, heartiest congratulations to our boys on lifting the coveted Asia Cup trophy, their 9th victory since inception. Bharat is also proud that our boys went unbeaten in the seven matches in the tournament — an exceptional achievement.

The country wore the proud ‘TILAK’ on every forehead of the 1.40 billion; purely on account of the belligerent ‘TILAK Varma’ who scripted/ engineered a magnificent 63 off 53 deliveries with 3 fours and 4 sixes at a cautious strike rate of 130.

It was a ‘Lion Hearted Batsmanship’ witnessed by a boisterous overflowing stadium under the ‘Ring of Fire’ at the beautiful Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The colourful fireworks around the ring enhanced the mood befittingly.

Well, I have written on umpteen occasions that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties and also that a match is never over until the last ball is bowled. Typically, in this final too we were more on the edge of our seats as the 38.5 overs (19.1 + 19.4) of the match swung the pendulum fiercely to fume, fret, applaud and eventually heave a sigh of relief as Rinku Singh swung the 19.4th ball to the boundary; the ONLY ball he played in the entire tournament and the most significant and epic one; to register victory for Bharat.

The coin went up at 7.30 pm (IST) sharp. Skipper SKY called it right and invited Pakistan to bat first. Every cricketing brain was precociously conscious that Pak had the bench strength to pile up a formidable total.

Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman began cautiously and built a strong foundation. 57 by Farhan @ 150; with 5 fours and 3 sixes was a power packed knock; very professional. He was well poised to carry on mightily. But, in the 10th over he holed out to Kuldeep off Varun. Fakhar Zaman too was striking the ball hard. To the utter dismay of the world, some inexplicable panic struck as Pak went down the hill @ 113/2, 114/3, 126/4, 138/8 to be eventually bowled out for 146.

Amidst of all excitement, the Indians too were in a state of confusion at the collapse of the Pak batting. Shivam Dube and Bumrah bowled poorly to start with. No doubt Varun and Kuldeep spun a web round their batting order. But, the intriguing question at the level of a finals was — ‘Were the spells indefensible?’. A good cricketing brain would say ‘No, they just threw away wickets in casual disdain and in competition.’ Kuldeep ended with 4 for 30, while Varun, Axar and Bumrah scalped 2 each.

Studio was agog with shocks and disappointment of the Pak batting on the one hand and challenges facing the strong batting line up staring at ‘Men in Blue’ on the other hand. While the best way forward for us was to keep the scoreboard ticking and consolidating in the first 5 overs, our top order monkeyed around and threw away wickets. To say the least, Abhishek Sharma, SKY, Gill and Samson looked rather irresponsible — chasing a paltry 146.

They virtually sent the 1.4 billion into a state of panic as the score stood at 77 for 4. Pak bowlers were all charged up and started to smell the TROPHY; while fists were tightening amongst Indian fans.

There entered the 6 foot 5 inches Shivam Dube. The confidence instilled by him propelled the self-belief in Tilak Varma. Both batted with a good mix of caution and aggression. Dube’s knock of 33 off 22 included powerfully struck 2 fours and 2 sixes. While Tilak’s knock was not only powerful but also highly responsible. How I wish Dube had remained not out with Tilak while steering us to the Asia Cup-2025. But, Dube holed out while the young Rinku Singh finished the act in one stroke to send the stadium and millions across the world at 12.30 am (IST).

Barring his poor show in the finals, Abhishek Sharma exhibited powerful display in other matches. Very rightly, he was adjudged the ‘Man of the Series.’ For reasons best known to the world, Tilak Varma was adjudged the ‘Man of the Match.’

We thank Pakistan players for their gritty performances. Bad luck to them. We thank Pakistan Cricket Board for hosting the event. We thank all the other Asian Teams for all the good entertainment in the competition. I will not be pardoned if I missed out on congratulating the Sri Lankan opener Pathun Nissanka — the ONLY CENTURION in the 2025 Asia Cup — for his brilliant knock of 107 off 58 deliveries, with 7 fours and 6 towering sixes @ 184.48 in the only match that went into ‘Super Over’ against us and we won.

God bless. We pray for peace to the world. ‘SARVE JANAH SUKHINO BHAVANTU.’