India's young batter Tilak Varma played the inning of his life during the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. The Mumbai Indians star played an unbeaten 69 off 53 that helped the Suryakumar Yadav-led side to defeat Pakistan by five wickets in the title decider of the continental tournament.
Pakistan gained the early momentum, removing India's openers Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma early in the power play when Tilak came out to bat. Considering the seriousness between the neighbouring nations, Tilak kept his composure to produce a batting masterclass in a high-pressure scenario.
"I wanted my bat to do the talking. They were saying a lot of things I just wanted to respond with my bat. Now they are not visible on the ground," said Tilak in a chat with teammate Shivam Dube on BCCI.TV.
Tilak stitched a 60-run stand with Shivam Dube that helped the defending champions India to defend their Asia Cup title with two balls to spare.
"I think my bat did the talking as well, they did not have much to say to me," said Dube in a light-hearted conversation.
Tilak added that the atmosphere in the stadium fuelled him to excel in a high-stakes contest.
"The chants of Vande Matram in the stands gave me goosebumps. I just want to say Bharat mata ki jai," added Tilak.
Apart from this crucial 33-run contribution in the middle order, Dube was handed a stiff challenge of bowling the first over of the game in the absence of injured Hardik Pandya. There were serious question marks over his bowling not so long ago but Dube passed the bowling test as well with flying colours.
"There is a lot of hard work behind (my bowling) and prayers of Indian team supporters. Lot of support and confidence has been given by the management. It was crucial game, I got a big opportunity. It was fun," concluded Dube.