India have found themselves best placed to add yet another Asia Cup title to their cabinet. Suryakumar Yadav’s side clinched a convincing win over Bangladesh to seal their berth in the finals in Dubai. While the IND vs BAN results suggests the Men in Blue had total domination, it was a rather error-prone display that raises concerns heading into the final two matches of the tournament.
Mistake-heavy India lucky to not pay the price
India in T20is under Gautam Gambhir have been nothing short of a juggernaut. The Men in Blue have brushed aside opposition with their ultra-aggressive batting and sheer bowling brilliance. Ranked No.1 in the world, the Asia Cup 2025 was likely to further reinforce how further ahead India are of the curve. A record of 5 wins and a spot in the Asia Cup final would suggest India have done that.
However, it has far from been that case. Despite the presence of 3 associate nations in the tournament, India now have the worst catching efficiency in Asia Cup 2025. The likes of Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav have starred, but the rest of the XI is yet to catch up. Suryakumar Yadav and the team management’s calls for constant improvisation has all added a sense of luck to the results.
Take the IND vs BAN game for example. The result says India won by 41 runs, a handsome margin in T20Is. Only for keen observers to know, that the Men in Blue were in a tight spot. 168 was never enough on this Dubai wicket after a painstaking end to the first innings. Bangladesh were cruising with Saif Hasan at the crease only for a late collapse to cut them open. India dropped 5 catches on Wednesday, and Bangladesh still failed to win. More often than not, a dreadful performance like that costs games.
Too much chopping and changing?
Even against Oman, India survived a scare. Oman got the closest in terms of margin, losing by just 21 runs. The Men in Blue rested their star players, rotated their line up so much that Suryakumar Yadav was slotted in at 11. Against Bangladesh, Shivam Dube was promoted to No.3. Sanju Samson did not come to bat despite India losing 5 wickets.
Axar Patel was promoted ahead, who finished with 10 runs of 15 balls. Dube did not bowl until the 18th over despite breaking Pakistan’s middle order in the previous game. Bumrah bowled 3 again in the powerplay while Kuldeep was held back despite striking twice in his first spell.
Fortunately for India, the gulf between their quality and the rest of the Asia Cup 2025 is too high. Even their error prone displays are too much for the opposition to win over. Pakistan and Bangladesh have no tried and failed, and it is either of the two who India will face in the final. If India fail to win the Asia Cup it will be a surprise but not a major one. The mistakes are bound to catch up at some point.
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