India blow away Bangladesh to storm into the Asia Cup 2025 final

Team India stormed into the final of the 2025 Asia Cup with a game to spare as they defeated Bangladesh by 41 runs, in the process also eliminating Sri Lanka from the competition. Despite a stern challenge from Bangladesh on the day, the Men in Blue managed to prevail in what transpired to be a high-octane battle in Dubai.

Winning the toss, Bangladesh opted to bowl first. Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill were off to another rollicking start in the tournament, although it took them an uncharacteristic first three overs to switch gears. Sharma led the charge with an unchecked blitzkrieg, hammering 75 off just 37 balls while Gill (29) was happy to play second fiddle, albeit scoring at a fairly breezy pace.

The opening pair added 77 runs from just 38 balls before Rishad Hossain got the better of Gill. Shivam Dube (2) who got a promotion in the batting unit couldn’t really conjure something special, following which Sharma’s phenomenal knock came to an abrupt halt as he was run out by Hossain, prying open a Pandora’s Box for Team India.

As the scoring rate dipped from 112/2 at the 11-over mark to 129/5 in 14.3 overs, India were forced into a bit of a resurrection path, with Suryakumar Yadav (5) and Tilak Varma (5) falling in quick succession. Eventually it was Hardik Pandya’s well-orchestrated 38 off 29 balls that propelled India to 168/6 at the end of their 20 overs.

Defending a decent target on what was proving to be a tricky pitch, India got the start that they were looking forward to. Jasprit Bumrah got the better of Tanzid Hasan (1) in the very second over of the innings. However, Bangladesh did find some solidity in Saif Hassan, who would eventually finish as the top-scorer of the innings with a 51-ball-69.

As the second-wicket partnership threatened to create a path towards the target for Bangladesh, Kuldeep Yadav provided a crucial breakthrough, claiming the scalp of Parvez Hossain Emon (21). The fall of Emon sparked a collapse and Bangladesh imploded in no time.

Axar Patel removed Towhid Hridoy (7) while Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Shamim Hossain (0) to leave Bangladesh tottering. Suryakumar Yadav’s awareness in the field sent Jaker Ali (4) packing too, reducing Bangladesh to 87/5. Saif, who was quickly running out of partners, switched gears in no time and scored the occasional boundary or two.

Just when it felt that Bangladesh could cook up some resistance through Saif, Varun Chakravarthy knitted together a web of mystery to get rid of Mohammad Saifuddin (4). Kuldeep Yadav leapt on the bandwagon of dominance, administering a double whammy, removing Rishad Hossain (2) and Tanzim Hossain Sakib (0) to further complicate matters for Bangladesh.

The pressure finally got to Saif Hassan as he succumbed to India’s strike bowler, Bumrah, and his dismissal snuffed out all hopes of a miraculous watershed. Tilak Varma hammered home the final nail in the coffin, getting the final wicket of Mustafizur Rahman as Bangladesh were bunled out for 127.

India registered a 41-run win, securing their berth for the grand finale. Abhishek Sharma won the Player of the Match award for his sensational half-century.