Bhubaneswar: India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by wickets in their Group A clash of the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

India won the match by playing only 15 overs and five balls. Captain Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 47 from 37 balls and Tilkar Varma’s 31 of 31 balls helped India achieve their target with 25 balls to spare.   

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against India. However, India bowlers led by Kuldeep Yadav managed to restrict Pakistan to 127/9.

India’s spin bowling trio of Kuldeep, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakaravarthy stifled Pakistan by picking six wickets collectively. While Kuldeep took 3-18 and Axar picked 2-18, the duo operated at a miserly economy rate of 4.50, while Varun ended with 1-24.

The Pakistani batsmen struggled for momentum throughout their innings. Sahibzada Farhan scored 40 runs for Pakistan while Shaheen Shah Afridi scored 33 not out.

While India thrashed the UAE by nine wickets in their opening game of the tournament, Pakistan beat Oman by 93 runs in their first match.