Kuldeep Yadav had taken 13 wickets in 6 matches before the 2025 Asia Cup final. He wasn’t just India’s best bowler but of the entire tournament. He was going to be the toughest bowler to handle for Pakistan on the spin-friendly pitch of Dubai.
Wary of the challenge that awaits them, Pakistan came prepared. In 2.4 overs, Kuldeep was smashed for 29 runs. Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman were handling the left-arm wrist-spinner with relative ease.
Kuldeep Yadav changes IND vs PAK final in 8 balls
But the game-changer that Kuldeep is, he flipped the script on its head. Pakistan was 113/1 in 12.4 overs. 180 looked to be the minimum the Men in Green would end up scoring. But Kuldeep struck on the penultimate ball of his third over, sending Saim Ayub back to the pavilion.
This wicket turned out to be the first domino to fall. What happened next was unimaginable. In the next over, Axar Patel dismissed Mohammad Haris, and Varun Chakaravarthy sent Fakhar packing. In the last over of Axar’s spell, he got Hussain Talat out as well. Now the score read 133/5 after 16 overs.
Kuldeep finally came for his last over. He had already done his bit. But whatever was left of Pakistan ended after he finished his spell. That’s because he took Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, and Faheem Ashraf’s wickets in the space of six balls.
The score before Kuldeep took his first wicket was 113/1. After his spell ended, it was 134/8. Jasprit Bumrah took the last two wickets, and Pakistan ended with just 146 runs. They added just 33 runs for the last 9 wickets. All of this started with Kuldeep. As he walked off the field, Dubai took a bow.
