Highlights:
- India beat Pakistan by five wickets to win ninth Asia Cup title
- Team did not attend delayed trophy presentation ceremony in Dubai
- Tilak Varma hit unbeaten 69, Kuldeep Yadav took 4-30
- Abhishek Sharma named player of the tournament
INDIA defeated Pakistan by five wickets on Sunday to win a record-extending ninth Asia Cup title but did not attend the trophy presentation ceremony.
India remained unbeaten to retain the Asia Cup crown — they also won the previous edition held in the 50-over format — but Suryakumar Yadav’s side did not collect the trophy in Dubai.
The presentation ceremony was delayed by more than an hour, with reports saying India did not want to receive the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi.
"I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight," presenter Simon Doull announced. "So that does conclude the post-match presentation."
Chasing 147, India relied on Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 to reach the target with two balls left. Varma shared a 60-run fifth-wicket stand with Shivam Dube, who made 33 before falling at the end of the 19th over.
With 10 needed off the last over, Varma hit a six before Rinku Singh struck the winning boundary. The Indian players ran to celebrate, while Pakistan players shook hands among themselves.
Kuldeep Yadav was instrumental in India’s win with figures of 4-30, bowling out Pakistan for 146. He finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps. Opener Abhishek Sharma was named player of the tournament for his 314 runs at a strike-rate of 200, including three fifties.
India slipped to 20-3 and later 77-4, but Varma steadied the chase with three fours and four sixes in his knock.
"It was a bit of pressure, but I wanted to stay at the wicket and finish the game," said Varma, who was named player of the match. "I was prepared to bat anywhere and I was backing on my game."
Sanju Samson contributed 24 runs, while Dube provided key support to take India across the line in front of a crowd dominated by Indian fans.
"It is a tough pill to swallow," Pakistan captain Salman Agha said. "We could not finish well in the batting. Bowling, we gave everything."
Bumrah retaliates
Tensions carried over from the teams’ earlier meetings in the tournament, with political posturing and on-field exchanges.
Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Haris Rauf for six in the first innings and responded with a gesture mirroring one Rauf had made towards the crowd in the previous match.
Put in to bat after no handshakes at the toss, Pakistan began strongly as Sahibzada Farhan scored 57 and Fakhar Zaman made 46 in an opening stand of 84. But from 113-1, Pakistan collapsed to 146 all out in 19.1 overs.
Kuldeep broke the stand in the 13th over, removing Saim Ayub, and later took three wickets in the 17th, including Agha for eight. Pakistan lost six wickets for 21 runs as Zaman fell short of his fifty.
India and Pakistan, who have not played a bilateral series in more than a decade, only face each other in multi-nation tournaments at neutral venues.
India had beaten Pakistan in both earlier meetings in the competition. In the Super Four clash, Farhan made a gun celebration after his half-century, while Rauf gestured towards the crowd in a manner seen as mocking India’s military.
In the group-stage match, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Agha, and both teams continued the no-handshake stance throughout the tournament.
(With inputs from agencies)
