2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their 2025 Asia Cup match vs Pakistan ft. Jasprit Bumrah's usage

India continued their dominance in the 2025 Asia Cup as they beat Pakistan by seven wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 14. The Men in Blue were never in any strife as they coasted over the line with more than four overs to spare in the chase.

From a tactical perspective, it was an interesting game for India. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. persisted with the same playing XI, and that meant that their pace resources needed to be used carefully. Meanwhile, in the batting department, three of their key men didn't get to have a hit in the middle for the second game running.

It was a comprehensive victory, but India still had some room for improvement. On that note, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by them in their Asia Cup 2025 clash against Pakistan.

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#3 Mistake - Sanju Samson seems to be slated for No. 6 or lower in the order

India v England - 4th T20I - Source: Getty

At the fall of Tilak Varma's wicket in the 13th over, India sent in Shivam Dube to maintain a left-right combination in the middle. While that was understandable, that also meant that Sanju Samson, who was opening the innings not too long ago, could now be slated for either No. 6 or lower in the batting order.

Samson is a world-class T20 batter, even if his T20I performances have been a bit inconsistent in the recent past. He is ideally used in the top four, and if he is picked ahead of Jitesh Sharma, he needs to be given the right opportunities to succeed. Capable of taking down all matchups, the keeper-batter has a skillset that should give him precedence over the illusion of left-right combinations.

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#2 Masterstroke - Abhishek Sharma set the tone against Shaheen Shah Afridi

India v Pakistan - Asia Cup - Source: Getty

Over the years, Shaheen Shah Afridi has had numerous memorable performances in ICC events against India. While he isn't the same bowler anymore, with a knee injury and excessive workload hampering his efficacy, the left-arm seamer can still wreck opposition top orders in the powerplay.

However, Abhishek Sharma didn't let that happen. As a depiction of India's new-age approach to T20I cricket, the attacking left-hander took down Afridi for a four and a six off the first two balls of the innings. That set the tone for a facile chase and banished the demons of past encounter against the Pakistan paceman.

That's how Abhishek plays, so it wasn't exactly a surprise. But it was definitely a sign of the masterfully shrewd tactics India have begun to deploy in the batting department - tactics that showed how past defeats could've been avoided.

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#1 Mistake - Suryakumar Yadav once again bowled Jasprit Bumrah for three overs in the powerplay

India v Pakistan - Asia Cup - Source: Getty

For the second game running, Jasprit Bumrah bowled three of his four overs inside the powerplay. India's current pace attack composition means that his overs need to be used carefully, and Suryakumar Yadav might have felt the repercussions of the same had Pakistan batted better through the middle overs.

With just one specialist pacer in Bumrah, India can't afford to be too attacking in the first six overs. They could've used an over of Axar Patel against the two right-handers in the middle once Saim Ayub was dismissed, or even brought Kuldeep Yadav in for an over at the top order.

India have gotten away with it twice, but bowling Bumrah for three on the trot inside the first six overs definitely isn't advisable.

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Edited by Sai Krishna