Tilak starred with the bat in India’s five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final.
Tilak Varma starred with the bat in India’s five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday (September 28) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Chasing 147 to win, the Men in Blue were reduced to 20/3 inside the powerplay. However, Tilak held his nerves and bailed his team out of trouble by adding 57 runs for the fourth wicket with Sanju Samson.
While Samson fell after scoring 24, Tilak (69* off 53) stayed till the end to guide India home with two deliveries to spare. The southpaw was ably supported by all-rounder Shivam Dube (33 off 22) and Rinku Singh, who hit the winning boundary.
Two days after the triumph, Tilak Varma addressed the media and backed captain Suryakumar Yadav’s statement that Pakistan is no competition for India.
Tilak, who was declared Player-of-the-Match in the final, acknowledged the pressure he felt but emphasized that the country always comes first.
"I agree with what Surya bhai (Surya Kumar Yadav) said, that it (Pakistan) is no competition. But we change our strategy from match to match...There indeed was pressure; a lot was going on in my mind. But the country is above everything else. India is at the top. So, I was determined to give everything for my country. I tried to be calm," Tilak Varma told reporters.
"Pressure was there. Lots of things were going in mind. Desh ke liye jaan de dunga (I will give up my life for my nation). I was calm under pressure (in the last over). I knew that I will win the game. I was just thinking about my country and was focussing on one ball at a time. I backed myself to deliver for the country and I am so proud of it," he added.
India defeated Pakistan in all three games of the recently concluded Asia Cup. While the title clash went into the last over, India won the group-stage fixture and Super 4 clash rather convincingly by seven wickets and six wickets respectively.
Tilak Varma made notable contributions in the group and Super 4 games as well, returning with knocks of 31 and 30* respectively.