Led by a fine showing from their spinners, a clinical India handed Pakistan an emphatic seven wicket thrashing in the Asia Cup match, in Dubai, on Sunday.
Kuldeep Yadav led the way with excellent figures of 3/18 while Axar Patel bagged 2/18 and Varun Chakravarthy took 1/24. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah (2/28) and Hardik Pandya (1/34) were also among the wickets as Pakistan struggled to 127/9 in their 20 overs.
In reply, India got off to a smashing start in the Powerplay. Young opener Abhishek Sharma made his intent, hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for a straight boundary off the first ball, hitting an entertaining 31 from 13 balls.
Tilak Varma contributed with 31, while Captain Suryakumar Yadav stroked a composed 47 from 37 balls as India cruised to victory in 15.5 overs for their second straight victory in the Asia Cup.
This was India's third victory in a row against Pakistan and their 11th victory overall against the arch-rivals in 14 T20 matches.
The last time India lost to Pakistan in a T20 match was at the Asia Cup in Dubai in 2022.
India has lost one out of three matches against Pakistan at home, during the first match of the bilateral series in Bengaluru on December 25, 2012.
At neutral venues, India enjoy a superior head to head record with nine wins from 11 games, with Pakistan's two victories coming in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2022 Asia Cup.
India are yet to play a T20 International in Pakistan.
India's head to head record vs Pakistan in T20 Internationals:
| Venue | Matches Won By India | Matches Won By Pakistan | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Neutral Venue | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| TOTAL | 11 | 3 | 14 |