Cricket fans were left in splits on Sunday during the India-Pakistan Group A clash of the Asia Cup 2025 when Pakistan bowler Mohammad Nawaz produced a moment of comic relief in an otherwise one-sided contest.The incident came in the 12th over of India’s reply when Tilak Varma punched a Nawaz delivery off the back foot straight back to the bowler. It looked like a routine return catch, but Nawaz fumbled once, twice, and then a third time before the ball slipped away completely. To make matters worse, he even made a desperate fourth attempt as the ball tumbled out of his hands. Tilak could only manage a wry smile, while Nawaz cursed himself in frustration, the clip quickly going viral on social media.That lapse summed up Pakistan’s night in Dubai, where their batting had already collapsed against India’s spinners. Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav (3/18), Axar Patel (2/18), and Varun Chakaravarthy (1/24) turned the screws with relentless accuracy, delivering a combined 40 dot balls. Jasprit Bumrah added 15 more dot deliveries in his incisive spell of 2/28, leaving Pakistan’s batters suffocated and searching for answers.Only Shaheen Shah Afridi’s late blitz, an unbeaten 33 off 16 balls with four sixes, gave Pakistan’s innings some respectability as they limped to 127/9. Without him, the total might not have touched 125.India’s bowlers had seized control from the very first ball, with Hardik Pandya removing Saim Ayub for a duck and then holding a fine catch to help Bumrah dismiss Mohammad Haris. Sahibzada Farhan top-scored with 40 but was shackled by spin, while Fakhar Zaman’s attempted counterattack ended in Tilak Varma’s safe hands at long-on.For Pakistan, Nawaz’s comical drop only added to the frustration of a night where nothing went right. For India, it was another reminder of their supremacy in high-pressure encounters, where even the funny moments tilt their way.
