"Made every ball count for something" - Sunil Gavaskar showers accolades on Indian batter for crucial knock in Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar praised Tilak Varma for his match-winning knock under pressure in the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan in Dubai. While hailing the youngster for his excellent innings, the batting legend stated that he made every ball count and thus put Pakistan under pressure in the crunch game.

India got the better of Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday, September 28. Sent into bat, Pakistan suffered a shocking batting collapse and crumbled from 113-1 to 146 all-out. In the chase, India got off to a poor start, losing three wickets for 20 runs inside the powerplay. However, Varma (69* off 53) held his nerve and guided his side past the finish line.

During a post-match discussion on Sports Today, Gavaskar praised Varma for the manner in which he controlled a tricky chase against Pakistan. The former India captain commented:

"He made every ball count for something. He was knocking it for singles at the start. He was running between the wickets and getting the circulation going in the legs. When you come into bat, the legs can be a little bit stiff if you are sitting in the change room for a while. That helps your footwork as well.

"What happens with the left-hand right-hand combination at the crease, when you keep taking singles, the opposition captain has to look at changing the field. The bowler has to look at changing his line and length. That eventually helps both the batters," the former opening batter added.

Varma struck three fours and four sixes in his unbeaten knock. The young southpaw added 57 for the fourth wicket with Sanju Samson (24 off 21) and 60 for the fifth wicket with Shivam Dube (33 off 22). Rinku Singh (4*) came in and hit the winning runs off the first ball he faced in the tournament.

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"Was breathing and trying to stay calm" - Tilak Varma after guiding India to victory in Asia Cup 2025 final

Varma looked ice-cool out in the middle during a tense chase against Pakistan. However, speaking after the game, the 22-year-old admitted that he was also feeling the pressure as Pakistan were bowling well. He said (via Cricbuzz):

"It was pressure. They were bowling well. They were mixing the pace up. I was breathing and trying to stay calm. Fantastic knock from Samson. The way Dube batted under pressure was important for the country."

Varma played a number of handy knocks for India in Asia Cup 2024. He ended the tournament with 213 runs in six innings (three not outs) at an average of 71 and a strike rate of 131.48.