"They could afford to lose Suryakumar Yadav for a duck" - India legend's big praise for Abhishek-Gill after IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash 

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar opined that the opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill was the defining phase of the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 match. The 76-year-old pointed out that the stand was so impactful, India could even afford to lose Suryakumar Yadav for a duck.

The Men in Blue beat Pakistan by six wickets in the Asia Cup clash in Dubai on Sunday, September 21. Bowling first after winning the toss, India restricted Pakistan to 171-5. In the chase, they got over the line in 18.5 overs as Abhishek and Gill featured in an opening stand of 105 in 9.5 overs.

In an interaction on India Today, Gavaskar stated that India's chase could have been tricky had they lost early wickets. He, however, admitted that the opening partnership between Abhishek and Gill totally shut Pakistan out of the contest. The former India captain commented:

"India won the powerplay convincingly with the opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. They just took the game away from Pakistan. If Pakistan had got a wicket or two in the first six overs, it would have been tough going for India. I am not saying India wouldn't have got there, but the ease with which they got...

"They could afford to lose 2-3 wickets. They could afford to lose Suryakumar Yadav, their captain, for a duck and yet end up winning with more than an over to spare. It just tells you when you have depth in batting as you have. And that's thanks to the all-rounders - Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel. It gives the captain so many options both in batting and bowling," the batting legend added.

Abhishek struck six fours and five sixes in his 79 off 34 balls. On the other hand, Gill smashed 47 off 28 balls. Tilak Varma also chipped in with 30* off 19 balls.

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"Players are super confident" - Sunil Gavaskar on India's impressive display

While Pakistan competed in the first half with the bat in the Super 4 match, India proved too good in the end. The result again highlighted the gulf between the two teams. According to Gavaskar, more than talent, temperament is the main difference between the two Asian sides. The 76-year-old explained:

"It's the temperament. Players are super confident. They have tremendous confidence in their ability to pull off the impossible. That is what helps any team to beat the odds. Despite dropping four catches, which could have cost them 20-30 runs, the way they came back after the half time and bowled those overs... At half time, they [Pakistan] were 91-1 and could have scored another 120 runs."

Shivam Dube impressed for Team India with the ball, registering figures of 2-33. Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with one wicket each.