Team India outclassed Pakistan in all facets of the game to register a convincing six-wicket victory in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 21).
Chasing 172 to win, Abhishek Sharma (74 off 39) and Shubman Gill (47 off 28) took the Pakistani bowling attack to the cleaners, sharing a fiery 105-run opening stand to propel the Men in Blue over the line with seven deliveries to spare.
This was India’s seventh successive win against Pakistan, and the gulf only seems to be growing wider and wider between the two sides.
Speaking to Sports Today, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh said that the lack of leadership and responsibility from Pakistan’s more experienced members have harmed them the most.
During the game, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan performed a gun-shot celebration after hitting a half-century and pacer Haris Rauf mimicked fighter jets going down while fielding near the boundary ropes. Shaheen Afridi’s move to sledge Abhishek also backfired.
Harbhajan took a brutal dig at Pakistani players’ provocative gestures, saying: “If talks were to win the game, I think they would have won. But it was between bat and ball, and I think that’s where India were far, far ahead of Pakistan.”
“Their senior bowlers like Haris or Shaheen Shah Afridi, they went for plenty. They couldn’t get a single wicket in the first six overs. They are the most experienced players. So if your experienced players are only shouting and talking, and not able to deliver with the ball or bat, you’ll see the results they are getting,” he added.
Harbhajan wasn’t bothered by the on-field exchanges, saying that it was irrelevant as long as India kept emerging victorious.
“Let them talk, we will talk with the bat and ball, and we will answer when required the best,” he concluded.
India find themselves on top of the Super 4s points table after the win over Pakistan, with their Net Run Rate currently at +0.689. Pakistan, on the other hand, are facing a must-win situation in the remaining Super 4 fixtures to stay alive in the tournament. The Men in Green will take on Sri Lanka in their next match in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (September 23).
