India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Team India for winning Asia Cup 2025 title on September 28. Narendra Modi delivered a befitting reply to Pakistan with his stinging remark after Salman Ali Agha-led side suffered a five-wicket defeat to India in the thrilling final. The Prime Minister invoked "Operation Sindoor" to frame the cricket triumph as a profound moment of national pride and celebration.
PM Modi's 'Operation Sindoor' jibe at Pakistan after India's Asia Cup title glory
"#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same - India wins!. Congrats to our cricketers," PM Modi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
India's Asia Cup victory and national sentiment
This crucial showdown unfolded against a backdrop of heated national debate over whether India should have played Pakistan at all, following the devastating April 22nd Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which had left the country outraged. In this highly charged atmosphere, Team India's victory—cheered from stadiums to living rooms—served as a powerful symbolic counterpunch and a moment of unifying national pride on the cricket pitch.
India clinch 9th Asia Cup title
Team India held their nerve to clinch their ninth Asia Cup title, securing a five-wicket win with two deliveries to spare in Dubai. The final was a tale of two innings. Pakistan started strongly, with Sahibzada Farhan bringing up another half-century. However, their innings suffered a monumental collapse from a promising 113/1, losing their last nine wickets for just 33 runs, thanks primarily to an inspired spell from spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
India's chase, in stark contrast, began shakily. In-form opener Abhishek Sharma fell early, followed soon by captain Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill. It was then that Tilak Varma stepped up to anchor the innings, playing a measured yet audacious knock of 69 not out off 53 balls, coming in with the score precariously placed at 20 for three. Varma formed crucial, steady partnerships, first a 50-run stand with Sanju Samson (24 runs), and then another with Shivam Dube (33 off 21 balls), to guide India across the line in the tense chase. The decisive shift in momentum came in the 18th over, when Pakistan's Haris Rauf conceded 17 runs under intense pressure. Varma's masterful straight drives and pick-up pulls, combined with Dube's aggressive strokeplay, turned the tide firmly in India's favor. Needing 10 runs from the final over, Varma hit the match-defining blow by clearing Rauf into the mid-wicket stands. Tournament debutant Rinku Singh then struck the winning boundary, sealing the victory for India.