Tilak Varma held on his nerves to showcase a masterclass innings to take India home in the final of the Asia Cup Sunday.
Varma remained unbeaten for his 69 off 53 balls as India defeated Pakistan by five wickets with a successful chase of 147 runs in 19.4 overs.
Faheem Ashraf gave Pakistan some hope and cheer after a dreadful late batting show from the green shirts as he removed India's most inform and dangerous batsmen, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, in power play.
India were 100-4 after the 15 overs. Sanju Samson was out at 24. Samson got a reprieve in the 9th over when Hussain Talat dropped a regulation catch near the boundary off Abrar Ahmad. However, Abrar got his wicket in the next over. Abrar finished his four overs 1-29.
Shivam Dube also played a brisk and important knock of 33 runs off 22 balls before he became third victim of Faheem who finished his four overs quota with impressive figures of 3-29.
Faheem removed Abhishek on the very first ball of the second over when he skyed the ball, only for Haris Rauf to take the catch.
In the very next over, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav was caught by Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha who took a low catch while diving forward off Shaheen Afridi. Afridi gave 20 runs for his lone wicket in four overs.
Sharma made five runs off six balls while Yadav made 1 run off five balls. India are 10-2 in 2.4 overs.
On the last ball of the fourth over, Faheem removed Shubhman as he was also caught by Haris Rauf. Gill made 12 off 10 runs.
Haris Rauf conceded 17 runs in the 15th over to tilt the balance a little in India's favour. He gave away 50 runs in his four overs as Pakistan's hopes faded away whenever he too the ball.
Earlier, Pakistan’s innings in the Asia Cup T20 final totally fell apart as Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadev took three wickets in the 17th over to leave the Green Shirts reeling at 134-8 as Pakistan set up a below-par 147 runs target for India.
Pakistan were off to a promising start, but the middle order collapse put the balance back into Indian favour as the whole team got out for 146 runs in 19.1 overs.
Three Pakistani batsmen got out for a duck while only three top order batsmen could enter the double figures as Pakistan lost their last nine wickets for 33 runs.
Pakistan got off to a flying start against India, racing to 113 runs for the loss of two wickets in 13 overs. But they left scrambling at 141-9 after 18 overs.
Opener Sahibzada Farhan provided Pakistan with a blistering start, smashing 57 runs off 38 balls.
He struck boundaries freely and set the tempo for a strong total before falling to Varun at the score of 84, caught while attempting another aggressive stroke.
Following his dismissal, Pakistan lost two more wickets in quick succession.
Young batter Saim Ayub, who looked promising, managed 14 runs before being trapped by Kuldeep at 113. Soon after, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris departed without scoring, leaving Pakistan suddenly three down.
Again, Fakhar Zaman who was charging the Indian bowling attack, lost his wicket at 46 off 35 balls.
Hussain Talat made 1 run before skying a ball off Axar Patel that was taken easily by Sanju Samson. Captain Salman Ali Agha followed suit on the very first ball of the 17th over bowled by Kuldeep after makiing 8 runs off 7 balls. Shaeen Shah Afridi survived an LBW decision through review but ironically was given LBW two balls latter on an Indian review.
Rana Faheem Ashraf was the next to go as he holed out at log off in a shot that lacked any substance and Tiluk Varun held to the simplest of the catch.
Haris Rauf hit a boundary to Bumrah before being clean bowled for six runs off four balls. Bumrah ended Pakistan innings on the very first ball of the 20th over when Muhammad nawaz became the last man out after scoring 6 runs off 9 balls.
Abrar Ahmed remained not out on 1. For India, Kuldeep was the most successful bowler taking four wickets for 30 runs. Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel all took two wickets each.
Toss Report
In the high-profile Asia Cup final against Pakistan, India won the toss and elected to field first at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
This is the third clash between the two arch-rivals in the space of two weeks.
India won both previous encounters, securing a seven-wicket victory in the league stage and a six-wicket win in the Super Fours.
Now, India is targeting a winning hat-trick against Pakistan in the final.
This match also marks the first time the two teams have faced each other in an Asia Cup final.
The defending champions, India, are aiming to win their ninth Asia Cup title under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav.
On the other hand, the Salman Ali Agha-led Pakistan is seeking its third Asia Cup crown, having last won the title in 2012.
Playing XIs
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
Pakistan XI: Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed