Fans lambast Pakistan’s batting collapse in Asia Cup 2025 final against India

DUBAI: Cricket fans left fuming on the Pakistan men’s cricket team as it slipped from 113/1 to 146 all out in the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 final against arch-rivals India here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Put into bat first, the opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave Pakistan a flamboyant start by putting together 84 runs inside the halfway mark.

Top-ranked T20I batter Varun Chakaravarthy gave India their first breakthrough in the 10th over by dismissing Farhan, who remained the top-scorer with 57 off 38 deliveries, smashing five fours and three sixes.

Despite Farhan’s dismissal, Pakistan were in a decent position as they had reached 113/1 in 12.4 overs before Kuldeep Yadav sent left-handed batter Saim Ayub (14) back.

His dismissal sparked a match-defining collapse, which saw Pakistan lose their remaining eight wickets for just 33 runs in 38 balls and were ultimately bowled out for a meagre 146 in 19.1 overs.

Pakistan’s batting collapse ignited fans’ rage, who turned to social media to express their discontent with the national team.

“India bowled nothing but mediocre stuff, nothing extraordinary yet Pakistan still managed to collapse miserably. A match already in our grasp, where 170 - 180 was easily on the cards, was shamelessly gifted away to India. Absolutely pathetic,” a cricket fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Another cricket fan took out his frustration on social media, terming the batting collapse “heartbreaking”.

“Heartbreaking collapse in the #AsiaCupFinal2025! Pakistan's middle order imploded against India, losing 9 wickets for 33 runs after a promising 113/1. Total shame in Dubai!” the fan wrote.

A cricket fan was of the view that Pakistan’s batting collapse was due to their own mistakes instead of India’s brilliance.

“Not India’s brilliance, just Pakistan’s batting collapse. Nothing more, nothing less.”