The much-awaited Group A encounter between India and Pakistan at the Asia Cup ended on a surprisingly cold note at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Indian batsmen Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube walked off the field without engaging in the traditional post-match handshakes with the Pakistani team.
Even so, the Pakistan squad did not make any attempt to make the gesture, and thus the finish lacked the sportsmanship display which is normally seen. Afterwards, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha also decided to forego the end-of-match presentation ceremony.
There were tensions from the toss itself, when captains Salman Agha and Suryakumar dodged the handshake. That symbolic snub hinted at what was to be a chillier finale, where the lack of bonhomie dominated the cricket on show.
"We stand with the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack, and we express our solidarity, and we want to dedicate today's win to the armed forces, " India captain Suryakumar Yadav said after the match.
Earlier on Saturday, Suryakumar celebrated his 35th birthday in style, hitting an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls to guide India to a dominant seven-wicket win over Pakistan.
India’s spin-focused approach once again proved crucial. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav led the effort with impressive figures of 3-18, supported by Axar Patel’s 2-18. Varun Chakaravarthy contributed 1-24, as the trio’s disciplined bowling on Dubai’s slow pitch kept Pakistan to a modest 127/9.
The slow conditions further exaggerated the effect of India's spinners, whose accuracy and variations put it hard for Pakistan to find some rhythm. Although Sahibzada Farham led with 40, a late flourish from Shaheen Shah Afridi, who went unbeaten on 33 off 16, provided some notion of respectability to Pakistan's score.
It was always within reach to chase 128, and India easily crossed the target with 25 balls to spare. The current T20 World Cup winners proved they were better than Pakistan in all aspects of the game.
