As India chased 147 in the politically charged tournament decider on Sunday, the champions refused to accept the winner’s trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi while the champions were two wickets down for 10 runs in the third over.
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The third time the tournament’s third India vs. Pakistan match was contested, and once more it was a controversy as players and tournament organizers waited outside for more than an hour to prepare for the post-match presentation.
Presenter Simon Doull revealed that Naqvi, who is also the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board and interior minister of Pakistan, would not attend the ceremony and would not collect their medals or the Asia Cup trophy.
After the ceremony was over, the Indian team “rejects” the trophy from Pakistan minister Mohsin Naqvi, head of the ACC, and the press trust of India.
However, top bowlers Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, and India’s final-winning player Varma did not approach the presentation area to collect their checks, but instead, they did so from Naqvi.
Suryakumar Yadav, India’s captain, and his team celebrated their ninth Asia Cup triumph with a mock trophy moments later.
Varma, 22, who is 22 years old, contributed to India’s victory with his measured innings, which included four sixes and three fours, in 53 balls.
When Pakistan’s medium-pace bowler Faheem Ashraf dismissed their star batter and tournament’s top run scorer, Abhishek, for five runs on the first ball of India’s second over, the run chase was dented. He was caught midway through a misplaced attempt at a six.
Soon after, Suryakumar was hit by Salman Agha, Salman Agha’s Pakistani counterpart, as the Indian captain hit his fifth ball midway through Salman Agha for a diving catch.
The opener Gill and Varma were then responsible for setting the tone for India, but Gill left nine balls later to Ashraf. Sanju Samson, a leg-spinner, threw an innings of 24 before falling to leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.
In addition to Hardik Pandya, new batter Shivam Dube, who had previously assumed the role of opening India’s bowling responsibilities, played a supporting role in Varma’s innings.
Pakistan did a good job bowling, but the fielders did not fully support them because Mohammad Haris, who was slow to remove the bails as Varma dived in, dropped two catches and missed a crucial run-out chance.
With six balls and nine runs left, Varma and Dube led India to victory, only for Dube to fall.
In the Indian camp, Rinku Singh, who took Pandya’s place in the final, faced one ball and fired the winning runs.
Before Farhan was dismissed for 57 off 38 in the 10th over, Pakistan had a strong opening innings with 84 from Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman.
After being dismissed, none of the Pakistan batters could post more than nine runs after Zaman (46 off 35). They then formed a brief partnership with Saim Ayub, who scored 14 runs.
As they came to an end in their final innings in 19.1 overs, the green team lost from 113-2 to 146 all out in 38 balls.
With four wickets and 30 runs in his four overs, Yadav won the bowlers’ choice for India. A wicket apiece was taken by Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Axar Patel.
Source: Aljazeera
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