"My heart was going to burst...": Sunil Gavaskar’s emotional confession on watching India vs Pakistan final
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The Indian batting legend, Sunil Gavaskar, has admitted that his heart almost skipped a beat as India took on Pakistan in the Asia Cup final and lost three early wickets in the powerplay. He also went on to criticize the top three for throwing away their wickets during the run chase.
India won their third straight game over their archrivals, Pakistan, in the Asia Cup 2025, including the final held in Dubai on Sunday, September 28.
The entire Asia Cup tenure was filled with tensions, as both teams stacked on accusations against each other's players as well as support staff. The ICC even had to intervene and, in their investigation, penalized Suryakumar Yadav as well as Haris Rauf for obscene gestures and provocative statements in public. The latest action has, however, set the heartbeats faster for some greats of the game.
"It looked like the heart was going to burst any time" - Sunil Gavaskar
India have been dominating Pakistan in every way possible; however, the final match witnessed some challenges posed to the Blues by the Men in Green. At first, the huge opening stand between Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman set the tone for a huge total.
Another huge moment in the game was when Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Afridi dismissed 3 batters from the Indian top order within the first five overs of the powerplay. Indian great Sunil Gavaskar has admitted witnessing all this; he could not keep his nerve steady and was under immense mental agitation.
Tilak Varma, however, helped India stabilize their innings, building onto vital partnerships alongside Sanju Samson and later Shivam Dube. During a recent discussion with Sports Today, Sunil Gavaskar admitted that his heart was racing very fast in some tense moments of the game.
"It looked like the heart was going to burst any time," he quipped.
Sunil Gavaskar slams Indian players for weak batting tactics in the powerplay
Further speaking of the game on a serious note, he went on to slam the Indian openers for their lack of strategy in chasing such a small target. Sunil Gavaskar complained:
"What we saw in the first three dismissals was hard to understand. It was not a big target. We were not chasing 190-200, where you need to look to score off just about every delivery."
"What you need to get was a nice, solid start. Not necessarily a 60 or 50 in the first six overs. They didn't need 20-3. That is what opened the door for Pakistan. That is what got everybody nervous," he advised.
Chasing 147, India lost their top 3 in the form of Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and out-of-form skipper Suryakumar Yadav. All these batters were back in the hut within 5 overs of the Indian innings.
Shivam Dube, the unsung hero of India's Asia Cup final triumph
Tilak Varma was undoubtedly the architect of so much joy for the Indian team with his well-balanced knock under intense pressure. The southpaw hit an audacious 69* off just 53 balls to guide India to a dominating victory.
However, what was more crucial from India's point of view was his partnerships alongside the other batters. He added 57 runs with Sanju Samson and then 60 more runs for the 5th wicket with Shivam Dube.
Shivam Dube scored 33 off just 22 balls with a strike rate of 150 and was one of the major contributors in changing the course of the game for India. He had delivered a stunning spell of 0/22 in his three overs with the ball. In Hardik Pandya's absence, he served as the ideal second pace bowling option for India.
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India National Cricket Team Pakistan National Cricket Team India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Sunil Gavaskar
