IND vs BAN | Twitter impressed as Abhishek and Kuldeep take India into final of Asia Cup

‌India stormed into the final of the Asia Cup T20 2025 with a clinical 41-run win over Bangladesh in the Super Fours in Dubai on Wednesday. Abhishek Sharma continued his terrific form with the bat, smashing five sixes and six fours to top-score in the contest with 75 off 37 balls, while Kuldeep Yadav spun a web around the Tigers with a spell of 3/18 in four overs to fold them for 127.

The Indian openers had a slow start, compared to the lofty standards they have set lately, after being put in at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Shubman Gill was on eight off 10 balls, while Abhishek scored eight of eight as India sat at 17/0 after the first three overs. But both batters shifted gears admirably to power the Men in Blue to their best powerplay score in this tournament. Gill started Nasum Ahmed’s second over with a four and a six as Abhishek completed it with another maximum. The left-handed batter, then, cut loose against Mustafizur Rahman with two sixes before peppering the off-side with four boundaries off Mohammad Saifuddin as India reached 72/0 after six overs. With spin being introduced from both ends, the Tigers came back strongly in the game, with Rishad Hossain accounting for Gill and Shivam Dube in his first two overs. From the other end, off-spinner Saif Hassan gave nothing away, conceding just seven runs in his two overs. Meanwhile, Abhishek brought his second straight half-century in only 25 balls and was unlucky to miss out on a well-deserved hundred after he was caught short of the crease by an excellent fielding effort from Hossain. In the last ball of the same over, Mustafizur sent back a struggling Suryakumar Yadav as the Men in Blue managed just 42 runs in the last six overs for the loss of four wickets. However, Hardik Pandya’s valuable innings of 38 from 29 balls, which included four fours and a six, helped the side reach 168/6, amid the middle order collapse. Hossain, who led the Tigers’ fightback, was the pick among their bowlers with a spell of 2/27 in three overs, while Mohammad Saifuddin bowled an excellent final over, giving away just four runs.

Chasing 169, Bangladesh lost Tanzid Hasan in Jasprit Bumrah’s first over, but fellow opener Saif Hassan kept the scoreboard ticking with two fours in the next over. Parvez Hossain Emon also showed intent as he welcomed Varun Chakravarthy with two fours in a 13-run over. The Tigers ended the powerplay on the frontfoot with the left-hander taking on Bumrah for a stunning six as the score read 44/1. As in the first innings, the introduction of spin from both ends slowed things down, with Kuldeep and Axar Patel picking up a wicket each and conceding just 21 runs in the next four overs. Though Hassan continued to clear the boundaries against the Indian spinners he kept losing wickets at the other end. He hit Varun for a maximum in the 11th over before smashing three sixes in two overs off Axar, the second of which brought his half-century. He was finally dismissed for a 51-ball 69 after hitting five sixes and three fours as Bangladesh slid to a big defeat after getting bowled out with three balls to spare. Apart from Kuldeep, Bumrah and Varun finished with two wickets each.