Dubai: The cricket was tense, closely fought and error-prone at times, befitting an India versus Pakistan rivalry and a tournament final.
Team India, who went into Sunday’s Asia Cup title-decider as overwhelming favourites, survived anxious moments and had to dig deep when crisis loomed before emerging champions. Pakistani bowlers looked to be on top, despite the team suffering a spectacular batting collapse, but ‘Operation Tilak’ finally cut them to size. The left-hander’s brilliant unbeaten 69 guided India home with two balls to spare.
The trophy drama overshadowed the gripping finale, and the Indian cricketers were left to celebrate without the Asia Cup. Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi was scheduled to present the trophy to Suryakumar Yadav and his boys, but the Indian team refused to receive the trophy from Naqvi, who is also a Pakistan minister.
The angry Naqvi left the stadium in a huff, taking the trophy and winner’s medals meant for Indian players.
During the match itself, there were moments which reflected the tension and ‘sparring’ between Indian and Pakistani players ever since the Indian captain and his team refused to shake hands and exchange greetings before and after their first clash two weeks ago.
Like Jasprit Bumrah’s ‘plane down’ mock after uprooting Haris Rauf’s stumps in the 18th over.
It was payback time as Rauf had taunted Indian fans with a ‘6-0’ gesture after suggesting that Indian planes had been brought down by Pakistan during the military conflict in May. Rauf, however, was pulled up by the match referee and fined 30% of his match fee.
As Bumrah’s ‘plane down’ celebration went viral, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju posted a screenshot showing Rauf’s toppled off-stump alongside Bumrah’s gesture, and captioned the post: “Pakistan deserves this punishment.”
Pakistan deserves such punishment 👊 pic.twitter.com/gh3TVwSH4C
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 28, 2025
Prime Minister had, late last night, lauded the Indian cricketers soon after their victory, tweeting: “#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.”
Having been outplayed lost in the group league stage (September 14) and Super 4 (September 21), Pakistani top-order batters looked to be on a mission in the final on September 28. After the openers put on 84 in under 10 overs, Pakistan were on course for a 200-plus total as they reached 113/1 in the 13th over.
Then, the Indian spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel cut through the Pakistani lineup in a hurry, and Bumrah provided the finishing touches with 2 wickets in as many overs. Pakistan were dismissed for 146, losing 9 wickets for 33 runs.
