 "Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are among the Indians guilty of dropping catches in the Asia Cup Super 4s, the former dropping two of them against Pakistan. AP")
India were the overwhelming favourites for the title heading into the 2025 Asia Cup – the 17th edition overall and the third in the T20 format. And they certainly have lived up to expectations so far, winning each of the five matches that they have played so far, whether in the group stage or in the Super 4s. Also along expected lines was the Suryakumar Yadav-led side becoming the first team to not just qualify for the Super 4s but also for the final .
The latter of those was confirmed with their 41-run victory over Bangladesh in Dubai on Wednesday, in which the Men in Blue had bundled the Bangladeshis out for a paltry 127 after posting 168 on the board to collect their fifth win in as many outings.
There have been quite a few positives for the Indian team in the ongoing tournament, from Abhishek Sharma’s explosive form and his successful opening partnership with vice-captain and childhood friend Shubman Gill to left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav making opposition batters dance to his tunes after being ignored for the entirety of the five-match Test series in England.
The Men in Blue, however, cannot take their eyes off the areas of concern in their quest for a ninth Asian title – which will be their second in the T20 format. Not only have India’s batting performances been dictated by the opening pair, especially Abhishek whose blazing knocks of 74 and 75 have proved to be the difference against Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively, their sloppy fielding has also become a major source of concern.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDropped catches a major worry for India
Indian fielders had dropped a total of three catches in the group stage – Kuldeep and Hardik Pandya putting down a couple of tough chances off their own bowling against Pakistan and Axar hitting his head on the ground quite hard after fumbling with the ball a couple of times during the dead rubber against Oman. Axar’s wasn’t the easiest of chances either as he was running backwards from mid off, and ended up hitting his head hard on the ground after getting into a tangle and falling awkwardly.
If the fielding was largely on point in the group stage, it has largely been abysmal in the Super 4s, where India have dropped a total of nine catches combined against Pakistan and Bangladesh – many of them sitters. Abhishek was guilty of dropping two chances in the second meeting against Pakistan, including a dolly in the third delivery of the first over that gave Sahibzada Farhan a reprieve on nought. He would go on to score 58 off 45 deliveries as Pakistan posted a competitive 171/5 on the board.
Kuldeep and Gill were also guilty of shelling sitters, benefiting Saim Ayub and Faheem Ashraf respectively. The two batters would go on to add a combined 31 runs to the Pakistani total after their dropped chances, which might not necessarily make a major difference in Tests and even in ODIs but could potentially be huge in the T20-over format.
From bad to worse
The Indians, it appeared, also had butterfingers when they took the field after setting Bangladesh 169 to win on Wednesday – dropping as many as five catches, although the situation was a little different against the Jaker Ali-led side.
Saif Hassan was the only batter to put up a solid fight against the Indian bowlers with his knock of 69 off 51. The opener, however, was involved in four of the five dropped catches during the Bangladeshi innings, one of which saw the ball land between Pandya and Shivam Dube at deep midwicket after the two ran towards the ball from opposite directions.
Had it not been for India’s improved bowling display, with Kuldeep and Bumrah collecting three and two wickets respectively while conceding just 18 runs each, Saif might have steered his side home and boosted the Tigers’ chances of making the final. Instead, he was reduced to a helpless spectator as wickets tumbled continuously at the other end.
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This is not to suggest that the Indians have not had their moments on the field; Abhishek, after all, had grabbed a screamer at deep backward square to dismiss Saim Ayub after dropping two catches.
Surya has also produced a couple of brilliant run-outs in the last two games, showing great presence of mind to catch a wandering Mohammad Nawaz short of the striker’s end and getting rid of his Bangladeshi counterpart Jaker with a superb direct hit in the following game.
The negatives, however, seem to be outweighing the positives at the moment, because of which fielding coach T Dilip will be quite busy over the course of the next couple of days the Indian team aim to iron out flaws in this department in their next outing, in the dead rubber against Sri Lanka on Friday.
They have managed to make up for their missed opportunities so far, but might not be so lucky in the most important match of them all – Sunday’s final.