Tilak Varma treated Shaheen Shah Afridi like a net-ball spinner: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian opening batter and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has opened up on the India vs Pakistan clash in the Super Four round of the Asia Cup 2025 campaign on Sunday, September 21, in Dubai.

In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote that Pakistan batters put up a better batting performance in the Super Four clash against India. However, they went on to lose a few wickets in tandem to lose the plot, adding that they were 20 runs short in the first innings.

"When the second match came along, there was an improved batting performance by Pakistan in the first half before the loss of three wickets put them on the back foot again, and despite getting big runs in the final three overs, they were 20 runs shorter than what they would have wanted,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

Furthermore, Gavaskar also added that the Indian opening batters Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill crushed the hopes of Pakistan with their explosive batting skills in the powerplay overs. Moreover, he heaped praise on Tilak Varma for treating Shaheen Afridi like a net ball spinner.

“India breezed to a win after a delightful opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill that took the breath away and crushed any hopes the Pakistanis had of winning the game. In the end, another super-talented batter, Tilak Varma, treated Pakistan’s premier bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, like a net-ball spinner and smashed him around to wrap a win with deliveries to spare,” he went on to write.

While Abhishek smacked a 74-run knock off 39 balls, Shubman Gill hit a 47-run knock off 28 balls. On the other hand, Tilak Varma smacked an unbeaten 30-run knock off 19 balls to take the side home with six wickets in hand.

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