Abhishek, Gill sparkling batting ensure India cruise past Pakistan in Asia Cup super4 stage

 

He had promised to gift the people of India a perfect Sunday—and Suryakumar Yadav kept his word. With the bat, he didn’t need to do much, nor was it required. The job was already done by the fearless duo of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, who once again left Pakistan battered and bruised. Be it in the group stage or the Super Four, the script remained unchanged. At the Dubai Stadium, India cruised to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan with seven balls to spare. For India, the win marked not only a sparkling start to their Super Four campaign but also an auspicious opening to the festive season.

Pakistan’s batting woes, glaring in the group stage against Salman Ali Agha’s timid effort, saw some improvement this time—but not nearly enough. In truth, they should have folded far earlier had Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma not spilled a string of simple catches. Jasprit Bumrah too had a rare off day with the ball, yet Pakistan still struggled. Winning the toss, the Indian skipper opted to bowl, only to watch Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman come out swinging. Zaman blazed a 15 off 9 before perishing, while Saim Ayub, who hadn’t scored a run in this Asia Cup, finally chipped in with 21. The middle order contributed in scattered cameos—Salman Agha (17), Hussain Talat (10), Mohammad Nawaz (21)—before Faheem Ashraf provided late fireworks with 20. It was Farhan’s patient 58 off 45 that anchored the innings, helping Pakistan scrape to a fighting, if fragile, total of 171.

In recent years, however, India-Pakistan clashes have been so one-sided that even 171 looked respectable on paper. In reality, it was anything but. The truth was revealed from the very first ball of India’s chase—Abhishek Sharma lofting Shaheen Afridi’s delivery into the stands. From there on, the pattern was set: every other ball raced to the ropes, either a blistering four or a towering six. Abhishek and Gill toyed with the bowlers, turning the contest into a personal race to fifty. Abhishek got there first, while Gill fell for a classy 47. By then, Pakistan’s attack was already broken, their 105-run opening stand leaving nothing but damage control. 

Suryakumar departed quickly, perhaps guilty of refusing to slow the tempo. Abhishek, too, paid for his aggression—sending Abrar Ahmed over the ropes one ball, only to misread the googly the very next and fall for 74. But by then, victory was a formality, with India needing just 46 runs. Sanju Samson chipped in 13, before Hardik Pandya(7*) and Tilak Varma (30*) sealed the win with calm authority.

India may have triumphed with ease, but the performance left two lingering concerns: the costly dropped catches and the still-fragile middle order. Rectify those, and Suryakumar’s men will look unstoppable.