Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to India's win in IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 match ft. Sunil Gavaskar

India secured a 21-run victory over Oman in their final league stage fixture of Asia Cup 2025 on Friday (September 19) in Abu Dhabi. The Men in Blue will face arch-rivals Pakistan in their first Super 4 game on Sunday in Dubai.

Batting first, India lost Shubman Gill (5) early. However, Abhishek Sharma (38) and Sanju Samson (56) stitched together a terrific 66-run stand to boost the side. Thereafter, Axar Patel (26) and Tilak Varma (29) also provided valuable contributions to propel India to a 188-run total.

In response, Oman got off to a fine start via their openers, Jatinder Singh (32) and Aamir Kaleem, who forged a stand of 56. Although the pair of Kaleem (64) and Hammad Mirza (51) produced a major fightback, the Indian bowling unit restricted Oman to 167.

On that note, let’s take a look at the top expert reactions to India ending their league stage campaign on a high.

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#1 Sunil Gavaskar

The legendary Indian batter, Sunil Gavaskar expressed his happiness with India's victory, as he felt that the game will help them to calm their nerves better in the Super 4 stage. In the post-match show on Sony Sports Network, he said:

"I am very happy with the win, as India secured victories easily in the first two games. The 40-over exercise was necessary for them because the upcoming games will be closely contested. Oman's batters gave India a tough challenge. Although, they weren't expected to seal the chase, but the way they fought, it was a good learning curve for India. (0:51) "Although, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy aren't playing, it was crucial for Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Hardik Pandya to bowl their quota of overs."

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#2 Abhinav Mukund

Former Indian batter, Abhinav Mukund let his thoughts be known on the game on the post-match show on ESPNCricinfo. According to Mukund, the Indian team should not take any game for granted, as the Associate teams also have the ability to cause an upset. He said:

"We've had the World Cups where associate nations were a part of which was the ODI World Cup. But we've seen a lot more upsets with the smaller teams once the T20 format is introduced where I feel you can't take things for granted. You can't Just say we're going to try a few things and sometimes there is a very big chance of an upset." (7:58)

Despite criticizing India, Mukund feels they are the favorites heading into the matchup against Pakistan. He added:

"I think India are the firm favorites against Pakistan because of the way they've played T20I cricket over the last 12 to 14 months and this performance should not take away anything from the fact that India will be at their best on Sunday." (17:38)

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#3 Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra began his post-match video by saying that the India-Oman game was a curtain-raiser for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side. He then praised opener Abhishek Sharma for his consistency in giving quick starts to the side, which has helped them garner a good amount of runs in the powerplay. In his latest video on his YouTube channel, he said:

"Abhishek Sharma, how well he plays. All of us talk about the template and a new brand of cricket. This pitch wasn't that batting-friendly, but when Abhishek Sharma was playing, it never felt like that. He scored 38 runs off 15 balls. He goes at a strike rate of 253. He is brilliant and how. He is a storm, a flood, and a tsunami." (2:40)

Chopra also discussed Sanju Samson's fifty, saying that although he didn't look in proper flow, his contributions played a key role in India posting a big total. He added:

"Sanju Samson came at No. 3. Batting wasn't easy. There were difficulties in the beginning and fast bowling was troubling him a little. Didn't look very convincing to begin with, but eventually what matters is that he scored runs. He scored more than 50 runs, and he held the team together as wickets were falling at the other end." (4:04)

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#4 Kris Srikkanth

In a post-match show on his YouTube channel, former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth shared his thoughts on Sanju Samson's knock. He praised Samson for stitching important partnerships and taking the team to a winning total. He said:

"It might not be the best knock of Sanju Samson but if you look at the situation when he walked in, he batted responsibly. Yes, his strike rate wasn't deadly and while it wasn't his best, it was a very important knock from the team's point of view. He was involved in three good partnerships with Abhishek, Tilak and Axar, which is why we got to 188." (3:42) "We needed somebody to stay there in the middle. He did a very sensible thing by holding one end up and enabling the others to go big," he added.

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#5 Rohan Gavaskar

In a post-match show on Cricbuzz, Rohan Gavaskar slammed the Indian team for making experiments, which could have cost them a game. He felt that if the Indian team had not taken the game lightly, the margin of victory would have been better. He said:

"Tilak Varma bowled, Abhishek Sharma bowled, so it showed that they didn't take the game seriously. The batting order was such that Suryakumar did not bat. They have not taken the game seriously but the bowling also did not. But the main bowlers will be thinking these Oman batters were 20 short of what would have been a historical victory for them." (2:40) "Whatever experiments you have made, that margin of victory should have been better," he added. (5:36)

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Edited by Sooryanarayanan Sesha