Tilak sizzles as India beat Pakistan by 5 wickets to win Asia Cup

Dubai: Riding on Tilak Varma’s incredible half-century, fancied India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the summit showdown to win their second Asia Cup title in the T20 format here on Sunday.

India bowled out Pakistan for a modest 146 and then chased down the target of 147 with two balls remaining.

Varma smashed an unbeaten 69 in 53 balls, while Shivam Dube contributed a breezy 22-ball 33 during a vital 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav was the star of the show with excellent figures of 4/30 in four overs, while fellow spinners Varun Chakaravarthy (2/30), Axar Patel (2/26) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/25) were also among the wickets after India opted to bowl first.

Sent in, Pakistan were well-served by the opening duo of Sahibzada Farhan (57 off 38 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (46 off 35 balls), who stitched together 84 runs in under 10 overs to lay the foundation for a big total.

However, the Indian spin trio of Varun, Kuldeep and Axar suddenly picked up a few wickets to quickly tighten the screws on Pakistan, who lost their last nine wickets for just 33 runs.

This was India’s third victory over Pakistan in this edition of the continental event after winning in the league and Super 4s stages.

Brief scores:

Pakistan: 146 all out in 19.1 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 57, Fakhar Zaman 46; Kuldeep Yadav 4/30).

India: 150 for five in 19.4 overs (Tilak Varma 69 not out, Shivam Dube 33).