Dubai, Sept 25 (HS): India stormed into the Asia Cup 2025 final with a commanding 41-run victory over Bangladesh in the Super Four clash at Dubai on Wednesday night. The result confirmed India’s place in the summit clash, eliminated Sri Lanka from contention, and set up a virtual semifinal between Pakistan and Bangladesh in their upcoming fixture.

Chasing a target of 169, Bangladesh faltered under pressure from the start. After both openers fell cheaply, Saif Hassan offered resistance with a valiant 69 off 51 balls, including three fours and five sixes. He stitched a 42-run stand with Parvez Hossain Emon (21), but once that partnership broke, the innings collapsed at regular intervals. The chase ended at 127 all out, falling well short of the target.India’s bowlers kept a stranglehold throughout.

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the attack with 3 wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy bagged two apiece. Axar Patel and Tilak Varma chipped in with one wicket each, ensuring Bangladesh never recovered momentum.

Earlier, asked to bat first, India posted 168 for 6 in their 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma was the innings’ star, smashing 75 off just 37 balls with six fours and five towering sixes. Hardik Pandya provided support with 38 off 29 balls, but captain Suryakumar Yadav (5), Shivam Dube (2), and Tilak Varma (5) failed to make an impact.

For Bangladesh, Rishad Hossain was the standout bowler with 2 wickets for 27 runs in his three overs, while Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, and Mohammad Saifuddin picked up one wicket each.With their place in the final now secure, India will await the winner of the Pakistan-Bangladesh encounter, which has effectively become a semifinal.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar