India defeated Bangladesh by 41 runs in Dubai to book their place in the Asia Cup 2025 final, where they will face the winner of Pakistan vs Bangladesh. Sri Lanka are already out, making their clash against India a dead rubber.
Abhishek Shines, Middle Order Struggles
Abhishek Sharma was once again India’s standout performer, smashing 75 off 37 balls. His explosive batting put India on track for a huge total before Bangladesh fought back with disciplined bowling. Hardik Pandya’s 38 ensured India finished at 168/6.
“𝑨𝒃𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒌’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂’𝒔 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚,” 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.
India slowed down considerably in the middle overs, exposing concerns about their shuffled batting order. Sanju Samson didn’t even get to bat, as experimental promotions for Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma didn’t click.
Bangladesh Falter Despite Saif’s Fight
Chasing 169, Bangladesh never looked settled against India’s bowling attack. Kuldeep Yadav (3/18) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) dismantled their chase, while Saif Hassan fought a lone battle with a spirited 69 off 51 balls.
“𝑩𝒖𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒎,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓.
In the end, India’s stronger depth and Abhishek’s brilliance carried them to the final, keeping their unbeaten run alive despite visible batting flaws.
Also Read: Resurgent Pakistan Face Hungry Bangladesh in Virtual Semi-Final