Team India clinched their record-extending ninth Asia Cup title by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final on Sunday (September 28) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Asked to bat first, Pakistan suffered a miserable collapse from 113/1 to 146 all out in 19.1 overs. Kuldeep Yadav starred with the ball for India, returning with the figures of 4/30 in four overs while Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel picked up two wickets each.

In reply, the Men in Blue were reduced to 20/3 inside the powerplay. However, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson bailed the team out of trouble by adding 57 runs for the fourth wicket.

Samson was dismissed for 24, but Tilak (69* off 53) stayed till the end to take his side over the line with two deliveries to spare. Shivam Dube (33 off 22) also returned with a stunning cameo to put India on the brink of victory, while Rinku Singh (4*) hit the winning boundary.

Reflecting on the title clash, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin heaped praise on Tilak Varma’s calmness during the chase after top-order fell cheaply.

Ashwin also took a dig at Pakistan’s premier pacer Haris Rauf, who conceded 50 runs in just 3.4 overs.

“Tilak Varma absolutely stole the show. He showed that he made of veins of ice. Outstanding knock. India were in a very precarious situation. Thanks to Haris Rauf, we won the match easily,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“Tilak Varma soaked the pressure. He played spin really well. He played sweeps, he was able to hit down the ground. He realised that the bounce on the wicket was a little sticky and started playing square off the wicket. People think that it is easy to hit this shot (six to Rauf) but falling in the line and picking it up is difficult,” he added.

Ashwin lauded the spin twin of Kuldeep and Varun for pulling things back after Pakistani openers put the Indian team on the back foot.

“I would like to give credit to Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. It was a next level comeback. Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave them a superb start. However, this is difference between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka handed our spinners beautifully and even made the right shot selection. If you look at teams in Asia, Pakistan have very good players of spin. However, it is big match pressure. There are many people in the Indian team who can face this pressure,” he said.

Ashwin further explained why Kuldeep Yadav left a huge mark in the continental event. “The reason Kuldeep Yadav bowled so well was because, the shot that Sanju got out, the same shot in IPL in Jaipur would have been a six over extra cover. In Dubai, when you bowl slow, the ball sits down and becomes lumpy with more bounce. It takes a top edge. See the example of Saim Ayub, he tried to cut it but it took an edge and Bumrah caught it at point. Wickets like this would never fall in the IPL. Think carefully. That is probably the difference,” he remarked.

The left-arm wrist-spinner finished the Asia Cup as the leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps in seven matches at an average of 9.29.