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India clinched the Asia Cup 2025 after defeating Pakistan by five wickets in a thrilling finale. This is India’s ninth Asia Cup victory.
India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in a thrilling Asia Cup finale. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)
The Asia Cup came to a close in a cracker of a match as India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by five wickets in an encounter worthy of a final. Celebrations erupted across India as Rinku Singh scored the winning runs in the last over with two balls to go.
Most Navratri and garba celebrations were put on hold as India took on Pakistan in their first finale in the Asia Cup’s 41-year history, and their third encounter in this tournament. The match swung back and forth as both teams seized control at different moments, but it was Kuldeep Yadav’s brilliant four-fer and Tilak Verma’s nerves of steel with a gritty 69* that sealed the match for India.
Fans of Team India waved their flags and danced to happy tunes after the Men in Blue emerged as the victors of a thrilling encounter and a tough competition from Pakistan. Ecstatic fans also distributed sweets to celebrate the hard-fought victory.
Scenes of jubilation were seen in Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and more as people took to the streets and chanted ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ to celebrate India’s win. “The entire nation is celebrating today…We were always confident that Team India would win the match,” a fan told news agency ANI.
Even the jawans of the Indian Army cheered as India brought home the Asia Cup 2025 with a thrilling victory over their arch-rivals. Locals and Indian soldiers danced to tunes of joy after the winning runs were scored.
The Asia Cup 2025, particularly the matches between India and Pakistan, was overshadowed by political tensions, as calls for a boycott emerged following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The BCCI and the Indian government came under pressure for allowing Team India to play against Pakistan after the two countries exchanged fire after the Indian military launched Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack.
Tensions between India and Pakistan were visible on the field, with Suryakumar Yadav’s side refusing to shake hands with the Pakistani players after winning their first encounter, and controversial gestures by Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf in the second game.
The tournament culminated in an India vs Pakistan finale, the first in Asia Cup history. Put in to bat, Pakistan started off well, with Sahibzada Farhan (57 off 38 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (46 off 35 balls) stitching an 84-run partnership within the first 10 overs. However, things fell apart when Pakistan collapsed in the middle overs, losing nine wickets in 33 runs.
Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, getting 4 for 30 runs. Excellent figures from Varun Chakaravarthy (2/30), Axar Patel (2/26), and Jasprit Bumrah (2/25) also helped restrict Pakistan to 146 in 19.1 overs.
Chasing 147, India got off to a horror start, losing Abhishek Sharma (5), skipper Suryakumar Yadav (1) and Shubman Gill (12) with only 20 runs on the board. Sanju Samson departed for 24 (21) to steady India’s innings, before Tilak Verma’s heroics (69*) and Dube’s handy (33) sealed the game in India’s favour.
People from all walks of life, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, congratulated Team India for today’s superb victory against Pakistan, and taunted the neighbouring country by referencing Operation Sindoor.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
September 29, 2025, 00:25 is
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