Abhishek and Gill's 'fire and ice' combination leaves Pakistan clueless

Abhishek Sharma's evening started poorly. Three balls into India's Super Four match against Pakistan at the 2025 Asia Cup, he put down a chance at deep third to reprieve Sahibzada Farhan. And when a shot at redemption came in the eighth over, he tipped the ball over the long-on boundary, giving Farhan another life. The result: a 34-ball half-century that set the platform for Pakistan.

Having spent the rest of the innings patrolling various pockets in the outfield where he took an excellent catch to send back Saim Ayub, Abhishek's real opportunity to redeem himself didn't come until the start of India's 172-run chase. Exactly a week ago, Abhishek had charged at Shaheen Shah Afridi, walloping ten off the first two balls to kickstart India's chase.

This time, Mohammad Haris was quick to play some mind games, standing up to the stumps to prevent Abhishek from charging again. Except, Afridi was having none of it. With Haris back to his usual spot, Afridi dished out a snarky bouncer. With a fine leg in place, the idea seemed legit, until Abhishek got inside the line and hooked him for six.

It was to be the start of a batting exhibition that helped Abhishek forget the nightmarish opening act. When he was finally out for a 39-ball 74, Abhishek had to drag himself off, visibly distraught at missing a century that was there for the taking. In between the drops and his dismissal, Pakistan's vaunted pace attack was sent on a leather hunt.

It didn't matter if he was hustled off the previous delivery - like when Mohammad Nawaz put down a miscued pull at midwicket in the third over - or got streaky runs off thick outside edges. The intent to make a statement in the powerplay trumped everything.

At the first sign of spin in the fourth over, he muscled Abrar Ahmed over deep square. And when Haris Rauf went hard length, he charged at him by opening up the off side. With Abhishek, beneath the intent is often a strong belief that this high-risk, high-reward approach will help deliver impact.

"It's just the way he is," Suryakumar Yadav said at the post-match press conference. "Abhishek is very selfless when it comes to his batting style. In the powerplay, he goes hard, but even after that he knows what's required. He analyses situations, he's learning every game. Most importantly, he never misses practice. Even if he doesn't want to bat, he'll be at the ground, doing something. If you keep working that hard, god always has plans for you."

On the eve of the match, that "something" was as significant as his powerplay salvo. He was helping his best friend, Shubman Gill, find his groove at an optional training session. Against UAE and Pakistan, Gill had been dismissed looking to attack. Two nights ago against Oman, he was cleaned up by a ripper of an inswinger.

And so, even though they'd had a late night thanks to the drive back from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, Gill was back in the nets to work on a few aspects later in the evening with Abhishek and Varun Chakravarthy for company, while the rest of the squad enjoyed an off day.

When Gill struggled for timing, Abhishek was beside him - at times offering inputs, sometimes even bowling certain deliveries in the absence of other net bowlers, to have Gill attempt certain shots until he got the feel.

On Sunday, Gill had that feel almost immediately as he picked up two fours off Saim Ayub's first over. But it wasn't until he lofted Afridi over mid-off with nonchalance that he truly got going. Soon enough, there was a bit of bite. There were words exchanged, and tension was palpable.

Gill wasn't going to lie low. He responded by unleashing a shot that could be his trademark - the short-arm jab for four off Rauf. Hard length, high pace - no problem. As Rauf turned back to see Abhishek punch the bat and yelp "shot", Rauf waved his hands away at him angrily.

And then as Gill and Abhishek met mid-pitch, there was a fierce staredown with Rauf, followed by an exchange of words that needed the umpires to intervene. By then, India were flying, and the game was tilting.

Gill kept threading gaps behind point both off pace and spin, hitting fearlessly through the line over extra cover, and even added range to his repertoire with a reverse sweep off Ayub, a stroke Suryakumar particularly relished.

"With Shubman, everyone knows what kind of player he is," Suryakumar said. "The only thing I'll say is he knows how to score runs. Today he backed his shots, took fewer risks, trusted his strokes. And that reverse sweep - I was really happy. He's been working on it a lot."

For a brief spell, the Gill-Abhishek madness that helped India pummel 69 in the powerplay made it seem like Pakistan were 15 short, like Salman Agha had assessed later. Afridi had been taken for 24 off his two wicketless overs, while Abrar and Ayub, despite their mystery spin, were equally flat.

Abhishek reached his fifty off just 24 balls, and amid the war of words, he celebrated his landmark by blowing a kiss to the crowd - seemingly towards his family, while Suryakumar punched the air in the dugout. The best friends were now proving to be a menace to their opponents.

"It's really important to be very good friends off the field," Suryakumar explained of their camaraderie. "When you open together, that bond matters. Sometimes you don't have to say anything in the middle. Just a look is enough - to take a cheeky single, to complement each other if one's flying or if one's struggling. That friendship comes into the picture when they bat together.

"It's like a fire and ice combination. They complement each other really well. And that's what I want to see. If someone is batting brilliantly, the other can take the backseat and rotate the strike. It was required today to have a very good start. And they did [provide that]."

There was also some history woven into the fire. Back in 2018 at the Under-19 World Cup semi-final, Afridi and his mates had needled Gill with the line: "our bowling isn't Bangladesh." Gill answered with a hundred and celebrated animatedly, hurling words towards the Pakistan team as he hit a last-ball six to bring up three figures. That day, Abhishek added the kicker: "Our batting isn't Pakistan either."

Seven years later, in Dubai, flashes of that aggression and fire they exhibited as teenagers were in full view again. By the time Gill fell, India were cruising at 105 for 1 in ten overs. Abhishek batted on for a bit more to impart more agony.

By the end, the dropped catches that had threatened to define Abhishek's evening seemed distant. Instead, two friends who grew up pushing each other to be their best versions, and live their India dream together, delivered in a statement win.

Their "fire and ice" was more than just a glimpse of an opening act that is here to stay.