New Delhi [India], September 29 : Following India's Asia Cup title win over Pakistan in a high-octane title clash, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan picked up his top five performers for 'Men in Blue' throughout the tournament, with two young batting stars at the top.
The India-Pakistan rivalry added another chapter in favour of India, with Tilak Varma's patient 69* propelling them to a five-wicket win over the Men in Green on Sunday. Following the win, Irfan took to his YouTube channel to pick his top five performers.
At number five, Irfan's pick was the mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, who took seven wickets in six matches at an average of 20.42, with best figures of 2/29.
Irfan pointed out how Varun's "greatest strength" is his "comeback ability".
"When Suryakumar needs a spinner in the powerplay, he trusts Varun. In the final, when there was a big partnership, Varun was brought in and took out Sahibzada Farhan. Even if he got hit for runs earlier, he made necessary changes and picked up wickets, breaking partnerships. His economy rate of 6.50 suggests that he does not get hit for a lot, bowls difficult overs and gets wickets in the form of regular breakthroughs. His contribution is more than numbers," Pathan spoke on spinners on his YouTube channel.
At number four was all-rounder Shivam Dube, who took five wickets in five matches at an average of 20.20, with best figures of 3/4. In the finals, he played a crucial cameo of 33 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes. After a valuable 27 in 16 balls during the T20 World Cup final, Dube added another important knock in crunch moments to his catalogue.
"Shivam Dube shines under pressure, especially as Hardik Pandya was unavailable. He had to bowl with the new ball in the final against Pakistan. Pakistan could not cash in on the fact that he was bowling with the new ball and for the first time against them in a final. In batting, he came in with India needing 70 runs from 46 balls and was there until just 10 runs were needed off the last six balls. Though seen mostly as someone who attacks spinners, he smashed Haris Rauf for boundaries in the death overs," said Pathan on all-rounder.
At the third spot was placed Kuldeep Yadav, the star spinner who topped the wicket-taking charts with 17 scalps at an average of 9.29 and an economy rate of 6.27, with two four-wicket hauls and best figures of 4/7.
Speaking about the spinner, Pathan said that for India, there is currently "no bigger match-winner" than Kuldeep Yadav, and in the final, it was his spell of 4/30 which caused Pakistan to collapse from 113/1 to 146 all out.
"Currently, there's no bigger match-winning spinner than Kuldeep. He is on the next level as a bowler. He did attacking bowling and Pakistan was on their knees. In the final, his spell changed the game, dismissing top batters in crucial overs, including a triple wicket in one over that rapidly collapsed Pakistan's lineup. His bowling is always tough for Pakistani batters to read," Pathan said.
Next up at the second spot was Tilak Varma, who ended the tournament as India's second-highest run-getter with 213 runs in six innings at an average of 71.00 and a strike rate of 131.48 with a clutch 69* in the final.
"He (Tilak Varma) has played at number three, scored two centuries. But this knock will be his 'cult knock'. When he came to bat with two wickets down, he built his innings patiently, focusing on singles before unleashing crucial boundaries. His sweep shots and calmness under pressure proved critical, showing maturity and technique. He was not playing straight. His strength was playing square, and he stuck to that. That match-winning innings will be remembered alongside the best played against Pakistan. It may move him into leadership conversations for the future. I was talking to people earlier if Tilak would be able to do it? This innings erased any doubts about his capability. It was a Virat Kohli-like inning. He has that patience and temperament in him to win matches for India," Irfan said.
At the top of the list, Pathan had the tournament's highest run-getter, Abhishek Sharma, who scored 314 runs in six innings at an average of above 44 and a strike rate of 200.00 with three fifties.
"He hit 32 fours, 19 sixes in the tournament. Ridiculous. He scored in every match except the final. He is a player if he keeps playing like this; failures will come. Team backs him to play fearlessly; he has taken Rohit Sharma's template of fast starts to a new level. He breaks the opponents' confidence. This player is special. His style, with a loose grip and flowing bat, makes for explosive shots, pull, hook, cut, step-out against fast bowlers. He targets premium bowlers. Abhishek refused to slow down, consistently targeting top bowlers and changing matches. He's the most dangerous opener India's had in T20s. He is a long-term, dominant player, and he has traits of such a batter," he concluded.
Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to field first. An 84-run stand between Sahidzada Farhan (57 in 38 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Fakhar Zaman (46 in 35 balls, with two fours and two sixes) gave Pakistan the headstart they needed.
However, thanks to the magic of spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4/30) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/30) in the middle overs, Pakistan faced a collapse from 113/1 in 12.4 overs to 146 all out in 19.1 overs, with Bumrah (2/25) also getting the final two wickets. During the run-chase, India sank to 20/3 due to an initial burst from Faheem Ashraf (3/29). However, Tilak Varma (69* in 53 balls, with three fours and four sixes), stitched a 57-run stand with Sanju Samson (24 in 21 balls, with two fours and a six) to bring India back into the game.
Shivam Dube (33 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes) delivered some carnage with Tilak, solidifying India's hold on the game despite some occasional brilliance from Pakistan. In the end, it was Rinku Singh, who was featuring in his first Asia Cup match, who got the chance to hit the winning runs on the first ball. Tilak walked away with the 'Player of the Match' honours, and India secured their second T20I Asia Cup title and overall ninth, including ODI editions.