How India turned Pakistan’s 113/1 into 146 all out in the Asia Cup 2025 final

Jatin

Indian bowlers humiliated Pakistan in Asia Cup final [Source: @BCCI/x.com]Indian bowlers humiliated Pakistan in Asia Cup final [Source: @BCCI/x.com]

The 2025 Asia Cup final at Dubai looked to be slipping from India’s grasp when Pakistan were cruising at 113/1 after 13 overs. Sahibzada Farhan had smashed a blistering fifty, Fakhar Zaman was timing it sweetly and the men in green looked set for 180+.

But what followed was a collapse so dramatic that it left fans rubbing their eyes in disbelief as Pakistan lost nine wickets for just 33 runs and folded for 146. Let’s break down how India engineered this sensational turnaround.

Executive snapshot

  • State at 13.0: Pakistan 113/1 with set batters (Farhan 57 off 38, Fakhar 33 off 26). Projection: 175–185 on a two-paced Dubai pitch.
  • State at 19.1: Pakistan all out 146. Sequence after 13.0: W at 12.5 (Saim Ayub), then Mohammad Haris (13.3), Fakhar Zaman (14.4), Husain Talat (15.3), Agha Salman (16.1), Shaheen Afridi (16.4), Faheem Ashraf (16.6), Haris Rauf (17.5), Mohammad Nawaz (19.1).
  • Key features: spin choke on a tacky surface (Axar + Kuldeep + Varun), then Bumrah’s death closure with pace-off and a slower bumper.

What actually flipped the game

1) The spin trap and the “wide of off” lane

From 11–16 overs, India built a scoring cage with a repeatable plan:

  • Length & line: back-of-length or just short, consistently outside off to left-handers, forcing cross-bat hits against the seam (slices, toe-ends).
  • Kuldeep’s googly mix: two different threats: overspin that held up and the googly turning away from LHBs.
  • Outfield plan: deep mid-wicket and long-on protected the slog; third man/point patrolled the slice.
  • Outcome: Ayub (12.5) miscues the cut; Haris (13.3) chips; and the big one, Fakhar (14.4) hacks a wide(ish), hung-up ball straight to backward point. That wicket is the hinge: set batter gone, new batters exposed to spin immediately.

Why this worked on the day

Dubai often goes two-paced at night. Anything into the pitch or with overspin checked on stroke, shrinking batters’ timing windows. Pakistan kept swinging across the line; India kept dragging them across the line and away from their arc.

2) Axar’s “hold” overs that don’t look attractive but kill you later

Axar’s 15th over reads: 10 runs, Talat out (15.3). On paper, not a sledgehammer. In context, it forced Pakistan to restart again and denied a clean launchpad for 16–20. 

His angle from around the wicket, skiddy arm-ball and back-of-length kept the ball on the hip or just outside off: hard to loft, easy to find the man. This is tempo control: enough dots + a wicket so Kuldeep could throw the haymaker next over.

3) The impeccable 16th over

Kuldeep’s final over (16th) is the collapse inside the collapse:

  • 16.1 Salman c Samson (rushed into a mis-hit)
  • 16.4 Shaheen lbw (googly, front-pad trapped)
  • 16.6 Faheem c Tilak (floated, full, toe-end to long-off)

Three dismissals in six balls with lines that either denied reach or invited the wrong swing. After this, Pakistan are eight down with two overs of Bumrah split across the finish. That is checkmate.

4) Bumrah’s death clinic: two speeds, two tools

  • Tool A: Off-pace into the pitch (17.2 gives a streaky four to Rauf; 17.3 swish at air). It starves timing and drags mishits into the square cordon.
  • Tool B: Fast/near-yorker at the stump (17.5 Rauf bowled), followed by the slower bumper (19.1 Nawaz skies to Rinku).
  • Bumrah reads intent: when the batter pre-loads big, he either goes slower and wider (kill bat speed) or zips at the base (beat the downswing).

Numbers that tell the story (without overfitting)

Phase control

  • Overs 0–10: 87/1 (RR 8.7): Pakistan built a base.
  • Overs 11–13: 26/1 (to 113/2): steady, then Ayub (12.5) and Haris (13.3) stall momentum.
  • Overs 14.0–19.1: 33 runs, 8 wickets, that is the match.

Boundary starvation

  • From 14.4 to 19.1 (last 28 balls): just two boundaries: Fakhar’s six at 14.3 and Rauf’s edged four at 17.2. 
  • After Fakhar’s dismissal, Pakistan’s big-hit supply basically shut off.

Wicket density

  • 13–17 overs: wickets at 13.3, 14.4, 15.3, 16.1, 16.4, 16.6, 17.5 plus the closer at 19.1. 
  • India averaged 6–7 balls per wicket in the meltdown window which is absurd in T20 finals.

What India did right (beyond “they bowled well”)

  • Resource timing: Suryakumar Yadav bought an 11th over from Tilak against two LHBs, saving premium overs. That small gamble banked Axar + Kuldeep + Bumrah for the squeeze.
  • Fielding that matched the plan: Catches weren’t just safe; they were placed for the mis-hit India expected (Tilak at long-off/mid-wicket lanes, Rinku patrolling deep mid-wicket, Kuldeep himself at backward point for Fakhar).
  • Repeatability over magic balls: India didn’t chase miracle yorkers for six overs. They hammered a template: back-of-length, wider channel, pace-off, field for the slice then unleashed Bumrah’s killers late.

Why it happened - The key factors

  • Dot-Ball Pressure: India bowled 30 dot balls in the last seven overs. No easy runs meant desperation shots.
  • Spin Trap: Kuldeep and Axar exploited Dubai’s sluggish surface to perfection.
  • Captaincy Calls: Suryakumar Yadav rotated his bowlers smartly.
  • Fielding: Samson, Rinku and Tilak Varma’s safe hands made sure half-chances were converted.

The turning point of the final

Fans will remember this final not just for Tilak Varma’s match-winning 69* but also for this astonishing collapse. Pakistan had one foot on the accelerator but India yanked the handbrake and turned the game on its head.