Asia Cup | A successful campaign for imperfect India

If it was strictly for the cricket on display and the challenges conquered on the field, India may not have attached special significance to winning the 17th edition of the Asia Cup on Sunday. But such was the bickering and geopolitical tension behind the scenes right through that Suryakumar Yadav’s men have reason to be immensely satisfied with their work in the Arabian desert over the past three weeks.

Regardless of where the trophy sits in light of events after the final, India was clearly the best team on view, and appears well-equipped to mount a robust defence of the T20 World Cup when the tournament kicks off on home turf and in Sri Lanka next February.

Even on the odd occasion that India was pushed to the corner in this tournament, the star-studded squad invariably found a way out of strife. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the final. Unlike lopsided affairs in the Group-A and Super Four fixtures where India breezed past Pakistan, Salman Agha’s men were actually in the ascendancy twice in the title showdown. First with the bat when they cruised to 113 for one, and then with the ball when they reduced India to 20 for three in a run chase of 147. But India countered both situations with skill and resilience.

While spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel triggered Pakistan’s implosion — it lost nine wickets for 33 runs — to start the comeback, Tilak Varma was entrusted with bailing the Indian team out of a hole with the willow. The left-hand batter from Hyderabad responded to the pressure with an unruffled, unbeaten 69 off 53 deliveries.

It isn’t the first time that the 22-year-old has displayed nerves of steel in taut situations. Although the stakes were not as high when India clashed with England in a bilateral series earlier this year, a target of 166 seemed out of reach at Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium when the 2024 T20 World Cup champion was 78 for five. But Tilak stayed put right through to the end to seal a two-wicket win.

“Tilak played an unbelievable knock. We’ve seen him do that before,” Suryakumar said in the media interaction after the final.

But as the Indian skipper duly pointed out, there were handy performances from several players that marked this successful campaign.

Shivam Dube, for example, stood tall and justified his status as an all-rounder. In the final, he bowled two overs inside the PowerPlay and conceded just 12 runs. With the bat as well, he exhibited commendable composure. In a 60-run partnership with Tilak, his 33 off 22 deliveries with two fours and as many sixes were invaluable.

Just as precious in the campaign were the performances of Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep. While the opening batter’s 314 runs were the most in the competition, the left-arm wrist-spinner ended as the highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps.

On the eve of the final, bowling coach Morne Morkel was candid to remark that India was yet to play the perfect game. That didn’t quite materialise in the final either, but the perfect result was achieved nevertheless.