India‘s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav marked his 35th birthday in the most memorable way possible by leading his team to a commanding seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday September 14. The birthday boy’s unbeaten 47 off 37 balls not only guided India to victory but also broke his personal drought against Pakistan becoming his highest T20I score against the arch-rivals.
Suryakumar Yadav celebrates birthday with teammates after India’s win over Pakistan
Following the match Suryakumar celebrated his birthday with teammates by cutting a cake while the squad sang “Happy Birthday” in what became a double celebration of both victory and his special day. The captain’s wife Devisha Shetty had prepared two cakes at the team hotel – one for the birthday and another for the victory – while also performing the traditional ritual of applying tilaka on his forehead.
India’s bowling attack led by Kuldeep Yadav dismantled Pakistan’s batting lineup after restricting them to 127/9 in their 20 overs. Kuldeep was named Player of the Match for his exceptional figures of 3/18 from four overs marking his second consecutive Man of the Match award in the tournament. Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah provided excellent support with two wickets each while the spin trio controlled the middle overs completely.
Pakistan’s innings was characterized by early collapses and middle-order struggles with only Sahibzada Farhan showing resistance with 40 off 44 balls. A late flourish from Shaheen Shah Afridi who smashed an unbeaten 33 off 16 balls provided some respectability to Pakistan’s total but it remained inadequate against India’s batting prowess.
Here’s the video:
Solid show with ball ✅
Clinical run-chase ✅🎥 Here’s a quick round-up of #TeamIndia‘s dominating win in our 2️⃣nd game of the #AsiaCup2025 🔽 pic.twitter.com/xRT0wsRJGt
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 15, 2025
Also READ: Gautam Gambhir’s emotional message after India’s emphatic win over Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025
Captain Suryakumar leads from the front with match-winning innings
India’s chase was anchored by brilliant contributions across the batting order with Abhishek Sharma providing the early momentum with a blazing 31 off 13 balls. Tilak Varma contributed a steady 31 while forming a crucial 56-run partnership with Suryakumar for the third wicket. The captain sealed the victory in style by hitting the winning six finishing unbeaten on 47 with five fours and a six.
At the post-match presentation Suryakumar dedicated the victory to the Indian armed forces and expressed solidarity with the families of the Pahalgam terror attack victims calling it a “perfect return gift to India“. The emotional moment resonated deeply with fans as the skipper’s leadership extended beyond cricket into showing national solidarity.
With this comprehensive victory India maintained their position at the top of Group A with four points from two matches and a net run rate of +4.793. The Men in Blue have virtually secured their place in the Super Four stage while Pakistan remains in second position with two points. India’s next Group A fixture will be against Oman on September 19 with the possibility of facing Pakistan again in the Super Four stage.
