Dubai, Sep 28: Tilak Varma, the sinewy left-hander from the city of Nizams, produced a heady cocktail of chutzpah and discretion to guide India to their ninth Asia Cup title, following a five-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling final here on Sunday.

Needing 10 off the last over, Tilak deposited Haris Rauf into mid-wicket stands before Rinku Singh, getting his first hit of the tournament, sent the Indian fans into delirium with a winning boundary.

Having slumped to 20 for three inside the first five overs, Tilak (69 not out of 53 balls) was composed and audacious in equal measure, with Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33 off 21 balls) proving to be brilliant support casts as India chased down 147 in 19.4 overs.

The tension was immense due to off-field events leading up

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