Abhishek, Gill Power India Past Pakistan Again
The Men in Blue win handily thanks to the opening stand of 105; Dube is excellent with the ball despite Bumrah’s infrequent off-day.
On Sunday, September 22, 2025, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill extended India’s dominant record against Pakistan in Twenty20 Internationals with a brilliant display of strokeplay at the Dubai International Stadium.
Last weekend, the Men in Blue defeated the arch-rival by seven wickets in an Asia Cup Group-A match. This time, the margin of victory was six wickets as they chased down 172 in 18.5 overs to start the Super Four phase off perfectly.
In an opening stand worth 105 runs, Abhishek (74, 39b, 6×4, 5×6) and Gill (47, 28b, 8×4), who have been close friends since their Punjab under-12 days, wowed the crowd with a combination of brilliant timing and vicious hitting. The tension of the handshake dispute that broke out last Sunday was reflected in the two batters’ heated verbal exchanges with the Pakistani bowlers. Neither before nor after this game did the participants shake hands.
As usual, Abhishek began the chase by pulling off Shaheen Afridi, which went for six. The Indian openers easily dispatched the big smashes, whether it was spin from Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub later on or pace from Afridi and Haris Rauf. Abhishek, who is left-handed, would drive Saim past cover for four to reach his fifty.
India had already won seven straight white-ball cricket matches against Pakistan when Faheem Ashraf’s inducker removed Gill’s stumps in the tenth over. Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya completed the chase, but Abhishek left a bit later.
With a 45-ball 58, Sahibzada Farhan was the primary contribution to Pakistan’s score of 171 for five. Shivam Dube, who had stats of 4-0-33-2, was the best bowler from India. Jasprit Bumrah had a rare off-day, giving up 45 runs.
India did a poor job of catching on that day. At short fine leg, Kuldeep Yadav gave Saim a reprieve while Abhishek dumped Farhan on zero. After that, Farhan and Saim formed a 72-run partnership for the second wicket. Faheem was dropped by Gill in the 19th over.
The initial exchanges were won by Pakistan. It reached 55 for one after six overs, its highest-ever score against India in the PowerPlay in T20Is, thanks to increased offensive intent in line with the format’s standards.
After a strong start, Fakhar Zaman left, and Farhan took over by noticeably dictating terms against Bumrah. In his first three overs, the 29-year-old was taken for 34 runs after hitting four fours off his willow with a contemptuous drive and some abrasive pulls. The Indian spinners had pushed the Pakistani batsmen through the middle period in the previous match. However, Saim and Farhan prevented the spin triad from taking the lead.
In the eleventh over, Dube finally broke the stand. India was able to recover well in the second half of the innings thanks to the breakthrough. When the well-set Farhan skied an off-cutter to Suryakumar Yadav at cover in the fifteenth over, the Mumbai medium-pacer claimed his second wicket. By night’s end, it helped secure yet another decisive victory.
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