Pakistan started off on the front-foot, were rocked by a late collapse, started their defence off woth three quick wickets to rock India's batting – but in the end, it didn't matter as Tilak Varma's sensational knock guided India home in the most enthralling of finals in Dubai.
Pathum Nissanka was the hero of the match as his sensational century brought them right to the verge of a big victory. Ultimately, he couldn't take his team home, but this was his breakthrough as he set the world on notice.
“This is not a rivalry anymore,” said Suryakumar Yadav in his press conference after India won a seventh consecutive match against Pakistan across formats. Haris Rauf had plenty of choice words for India right through the match, but as the men in blue crushed their rivals in the Asia Cup Super 4 match, it became clear that there is a very clear top dog in a one-sided matchup.
The war of words between Abhishek Sharma and Haris Rauf the story of the match as India ultimately continued their stretch of dominance over Pakistan with a comfortable 6-wicket win to get their Super 4s off to a great start.
Sri Lanka saw off the Afghanistan challenge to win by 6 wickets in Abu Dhabi, sealing their spot in the Super 4s after a perfect group campaign. They also help out Bangladesh, who progress through with them to the next round.
United Arab Emirates pulled together a truly comprehensive all-round performance, beating Oman by 42 runs. Oman are now out of the tournament, while UAE have set up a very interesting winner-takes-all contest against Pakistan to decide who progresses to the Super 4s.
India showed off the gulf in quality and T20 ability they hold over Pakistan with a straightforward victory in Dubai, where they dominated right from ball one and never looked under any sort of threat. A performance worthy of the world champions.
Kuldeep Yadav returned figures of 4-7 to lead holders India to a crushing nine-wicket win over hosts United Arab Emirates in their opening match of the Asia Cup on Wednesday.
Shubman Gill will serve as Suryakumar Yadav's deputy in the Asia Cup. He is expected to open alongside Abhishek Sharma. His inclusion in the squad has led to polarising opinion, with many criticising the selectors for picking players based on their Test form.
India are preparing to continue a strong start to life in T20 cricket under the guidance of Suryakumar Yadav, who has forged a formidable unit alongside coach Gautam Gambhir. Ahead of next year's home T20 World Cup, next month's Asia Cup will be an important warm-up event for the team to find its identity.
Mohammed Siraj recorded figures of 6/21 as he led India's demolition job in the 2023 Asia Cup final. Siraj took four wickets in just his second over and Sri Lanka were all out for 50 and India ended up chasing the target down in just 6.1 overs
The last match of the 2023 Asia Cup Super 4 stage may have been a dead rubber but it came down to the last two balls of the match. Bangladesh were clinical with the ball and in the field and defended a target of 266, beating India by six runs.
Charith Asalanka finished off an epic chase for Sri Lanka that was powered by Kusal Mendis's 91 and they qualified for the Asia Cup final a second consecutive year. The defending champions will face India in the final on Sunday.
India and Pakistan's first of possible three matches in the 2023 Asia Cup was washed out. India were all out for 266 but Pakistan's innings never got underway.
Matheesha Pathirana's four-wicket haul on his home debut in international cricket while Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka scored half centuries as Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by five wickets to start their Asia Cup defence with a victory.
Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, second right, reacts after the dismissal of Pakistan's captain Babar Azam during the T20 cricket match of Asia Cup between Pakistan and Sri Lanka
