India, Sept. 29 -- A mature half-century from Tilak Varma helped India straddle back-to-back fifty-run partnerships involving Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube to defeat Pakistan by five wickets and win the Asia Cup in a tense final in Dubai on Sunday.

Put into bat, Pakistan cruised to 100 in just 11.2 overs before their batting imploded as they finished with 146. India have been master chasers but Pakistan bowled tight lines and fielded spectacularly to push the match to the wire. In the end, India needed 10 off the last over but Varma and Rinku Singh scored them in two hits to seal a memorable win.

The scare was real when India slipped to 10/2 after Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav played needlessly aggressive shots. It turned for the ...