'Dar lag raha tha': Shivam Dube’s shocking confession on India-Pakistan final after winning ‘Impact Player’ medal

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The highly anticipated final between India and Pakistan ended in favour of the Men in Blue, as Shivam Dube ritualistically won the Impact Player Medal in the Indian dressing room for his all-rounder brilliance with the ball as well as the bat under some tense moments in the game.
Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the final due to injury, despite which Gautam Gambhir preferred batting depth and left out Arshdeep Singh from the side, hence opting for only one frontline pacer, Jasprit Bumrah. However, no one knew that Shivam Dube, the all-rounder who has been successful with the ball in this Asia Cup, had something special under his belt.
Shivam Dube picked as the Impact Player for the Asia Cup final
India won the Asia Cup final after a neck-and-neck challenge posed by the Pakistan bowlers. After the Indian top order failed to give them a promising start, the major part of the job fell largely on the finishers, who had not had much of a job to do so far in the edition of the Asia Cup.
In Hardik Pandya's absence and Rinku Singh playing his first match in the edition, the Indians largely depended on CSK all-rounder Shivam Dube. And for Dube, it was his night. Marking Hardik's unavailability, he bowled 2 crucial overs in the powerplay, sharing the new ball alongside Jasprit Bumrah.
Though he finished wicketless in the game, he looked more effective than a part-time seam bowler. With the bat, Dube scored a quickfire 33, but his colossal sixes helped India gain the momentum in their chase, which led them to finish with ease.
"I was 100% under pressure to bowl the first over" - Shivam Dube
Shivam Dube received the Impact Player medal for his overall impactful performance in the game. Abhishek Sharma had received the Player of the tournament award for his terrific domination with the bat, while Tilak Varma was the player of the match after his commanding, unbeaten 69-run knock.
"To bowl the first over, I was under immense pressure, I can't lie. I was very afraid, but many people supported me. During the match, the pressure had been released since my entire focus was on bowling at that time. I enjoyed it a lot, and yes, I am very thankful for the Impact player medal. Thank You!!" Shivam Dube said in his speech after being named the impact player for the game.
Rising 🆙 to the occasion! 🔝
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 29, 2025
Our Impact Player delivered an all-around performance in the #Final, sealing the #AsiaCup2025 title for #TeamIndia 🏆
Watch 🔽
Abhishek Sharma was announced as the Player of the tournament
Though many Indian players had a brilliant record in this Asia Cup for India, Abhishek Sharma was considered the most deserving of the lot to be the Player of the tournament. It was for that one man that India won matches throughout the Super-4 stages.
However, batter Tilak Varma and especially spinner Kuldeep Yadav's records are impressive as well. Kuldeep picked 17 wickets in 7 games with 2 4-wicket hauls and 2 player-of-the-match performances. Whenever India needed wickets, it was the one bowler skipper Suryakumar Yadav looked at.
The BCCI has announced a whopping INR 21 crores prize money for the members of the victorious Indian side in the Asia Cup.
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India National Cricket Team Pakistan National Cricket Team India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Shivam Dube Kuldeep Yadav Abhishek Sharma Tilak Varma