IND vs PAK: Kuldeep Yadav's spin wizardry continues, becomes first player to record this feat in Asia Cup T20 after terrific 3-fer against Pakistan

Kuldeep Yadav's rampage continued in the Asia Cup 2025 as he dazzled with a historic three-fer in India's Group A clash against Pakistan at the Dubai International cricket stadium on September 14. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first but struggled to build momentum. They lost wickets at regular intervals, managing to post a total of just 127 for 9. The star of the show for India was Kuldeep Yadav, who proved unplayable for the Pakistani batters. He took three crucial wickets, dismissing Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, and Sahibzada Farhan.

Kuldeep Yadav creates history with 3-fer against Pakistan

Kuldeep finished with impressive figures of 3/18, making him the pick of the bowlers. This performance follows his equally brilliant outing in the first match against the UAE, where he took 4/7. By achieving back-to-back three-wicket hauls, he has become the first bowler to do so in the T20 format of the Asia Cup. Overall, he is only the second bowler, after Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to take two three-wicket hauls in the T20 Asia Cup.

Opting to bat first, Pakistan got off to a terrible start against India. Opener Saim Ayub was dismissed on the very first ball, followed by Mohammed Haris, who fell for a duck in the next over to Jasprit Bumrah. Despite the early setback, Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan managed to stabilize the innings.

However, once the powerplay ended, India's spinners took control. Axar Patel struck first, getting two quick wickets by dismissing both Fakhar Zaman and captain Salman Ali Agha. The Pakistani batters continued to struggle against the spin trio of Axar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy, who collectively claimed six of the nine wickets. It was Shaheen Shah Afridi who provided a late flourish, smashing 33 runs from just 16 balls, including four sixes, to help Pakistan reach a final total of 127 for 9.

India's Playing XI:

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

Pakistan's Playing XI:

Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed