Asia Cup 2025: Shivam Dube was the real game-changer against Pakistan

Sunday provided the perfect illustration of how you start especially in cricket isnrsquot half as important as how you finishWith generous help from butterfingered Indian fieldsman Pakistan bossed the first 10 overs here For most of the remaining 285 overs mdash except for a brief threeover spell right at the end of Pakistanrsquos batting stint mdash it was India all the way in the T20 Asia Cup Super Four showdownThere has been an extra edge to IndiaPakistan matches in this tournament but the cricket hasnrsquot lived up to the hype India have left Pakistan way behind in limitedovers internationals mdash the teams have faced off in a Test since December 2007 mdash and Sunday reiterated the gulfPakistan begin with 911At 911 midway through their innings Pakistan seemed to have shed the diffidence that has gripped their 20over cricket in the last few years The drinks break at the 10over mark gave India the opportunity to regroup For the next seven overs they tightened the screws with the unlikely towering figure of Shivam Dube emerging as the gamechangerDube isnrsquot the first name that comes to mind when one talks of Indiarsquos bowling but the seasoned Mumbaikar showcased his value with the ball during a threeover first spell when not only did he put the lid on the scoring he also picked up the crucial sticks of the wellset secondwicket pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub The hallmark of a champion outfit is to unearth a different hero each time and Dube made up for a decidedly subpar outing for Jasprit Bumrah with his parsimonious 216 off three oversSudden dearth of boundariesBetween overs 93 and 161 for 39 deliveries Pakistan failed to find the boundary Mohammad Nawaz played out four dot balls in the 16th over from Varun Chakravarthy For all their lip service to aggressive batting Pakistan fell back on the conservative without provocation India upped their disciplines and asked the questions that were conspicuous by their absence in the first quarter of the game but Pakistan showed no intent whatsoever until with time running out they hit out in desperation and amassed 43 off the last 18 deliveriesAt the innings break India must have been the happier unit having stared at 185 and more they had pulled back their target to 172 which Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill attacked ferociously Bowling is clearly Pakistanrsquos stronger suit but you wouldnrsquot have guessed From the first ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi which Abhishek pulled for six there was only one team in the contest Unlike India who responded splendidly in the first half of the match Pakistan were clueless Apart from the firedup Haris Rauf who recovered from a poor first over but didnrsquot cover himself in glory with unbecoming gestures and needless flareups the rest crumbled under the sustained onslaughtRivalry What rivalry Suryakumar Yadav hit the nail on the head after the game India hold a 70 whiteball record against Pakistan since the 2022T20 World Cup The rivalry talk is getting a little tired truth be toldZERONo of matches India have lost in the last 34 T20Is that Shivam Dube has featured in two games ended with no result