"Thanks To Haris Rauf": R Ashwin Roasts Pakistan Pacer For His Role In India's Asia Cup Triumph

Chasing a target of 147 runs against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final, Team India found itself in a spot of bother when it lost three wickets for a score of just 20 runs. Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav failed to fire with the bat in the all-important fixture before Tilak Varma took the onus upon himself and delivered a match-winning show. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had nothing but praise for Tilak's match-winning show, 69 off 53, but he also thanked Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf for lending a helping hand.

Rauf, who had been in the news for his on-field gestures and antics in the Super 4 match against India, took a massive beating in the final. He went for 50 runs in just 3.4 overs, turning out to be Pakistan's most expensive bowler in the title-decider.

Ashwin, hence, couldn't overlook the crucial role Rauf played in India's title triumph.

"Tilak Varma absolutely stole the show. He showed that he's made of veins of ice. Outstanding knock. India were in a very precarious situation. Thanks to Haris Rauf, we won the match easily," he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"Tilak Varma soaked the pressure. He played spin really well. He played sweeps, he was able to hit down the ground. He realised that the bounce on the wicket was a little sticky and started playing square off the wicket. People think that it is easy to hit this shot (six to Rauf) but falling in the line and picking it up is difficult," he added.

Ashwin was also full of praise for Indian spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, who picked a combined six wickets in the match.

"I would like to give credit to Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. It was a next-level comeback. Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave them a superb start. However, this is the difference between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka handled our spinners beautifully and even made the right shot selection. If you look at teams in Asia, Pakistan have very good players of spin. However, it is big match pressure. There are many people in the Indian team who can face this pressure," he said.

"The reason Kuldeep Yadav bowled so well was because the shot that Sanju got out on the same shot in the IPL in Jaipur would have been a six over extra cover. In Dubai, when you bowl slow, the ball sits down and becomes lumpy with more bounce. It takes a top edge. See the example of Saim Ayub, he tried to cut it but it took an edge and Bumrah caught it at point. Wickets like this would never fall in the IPL. Think carefully. That is probably the difference," Ashwin said.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Haris Rauf Ravichandran Ashwin Asia Cup 2025 Varun Chakaravarthy Kuldeep Yadav Tilak Varma Cricket