Pakistan captain Salman Agha said India had “disrespected cricket” while Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav complained his side were denied the trophy after winning a fraught Asia Cup overshadowed by ill feeling on both sides.
India defeated Pakistan by five wickets for a record-extending ninth Asia Cup title on Sunday, but skipped the trophy presentation in a tournament without handshakes between the two rivals.
India finished unbeaten to retain the title — they won the previous edition in the 50-over format — but Suryakumar Yadav’s team did not collect the trophy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Photo: AFP
The presentation ceremony took more than an hour to get going with media reports saying India did not want to get the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chief and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) 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 said. “So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”
The Indian players instead celebrated retaining their regional crown by mimicking holding a trophy.
“I think this is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing cricket that the champion team is denied the trophy,” Suryakumar Yadav said. “We took the call on the ground about not taking the trophy.”
“I think what has happened in this tournament is very disappointing,” Agha told reporters. “If they think they [India] disrespected us by not shaking hands, then I say they disrespected cricket.”
“What they did today, a good team doesn’t do that. Good teams do what we have done. We waited for our medals and took them,” he said. “It’s been seen for the first time. I do not know where it will stop. What has happened in this tournament is bad for cricket.”
Chasing 147 for victory, India depended on Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 to reach their target with two balls to spare in a tense chase.
Varma put on a key stand, including a 60-run fifth-wicket partnership with Shivam Dube, who got out for 33 at the end of the 19th over.
Needing 10 off the last over, Varma struck a six and Rinku Singh hit the winning boundary as the pair ran off to celebrate with their team, leaving Pakistan to shake hands among themselves.
Kuldeep Yadav set up India’s third victory over their rivals in the regional tournament played under the T20 format as his figures of 4-30 helped bowl out Pakistan for 146.
Kuldeep ended the tournament as the leading bowler with 17 wickets. Indian opener Abhishek Sharma won the player of the tournament with 314 runs, including three fifties at a strike-rate of 200.
India were in trouble at 3-20 and 4-77, but Varma kept calm to anchor the chase as he hit 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,” Varma said after being named player of the match. “I was prepared to bat anywhere, and I was backing on my game.”
Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson’s 24 and then a supporting knock by Dube took India home at a nearly packed stadium dominated by Indian fans.
“It is a tough pill to swallow,” Agha said. “We could not finish well in the batting. Bowling, we gave everything.”
The two neighbors came into the title clash with tensions high from their previous two clashes in the competition, which witnessed political posturing and aggressive on-field behavior.
India pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah raised the heat in the first innings on Sunday when he bowled Haris Rauf for six and made a gesture similar to the one the Pakistan bowler had done to the crowd in the previous meeting between the two teams.
Put in to bat after no handshakes at the toss, Pakistan started strongly as openers Sahibzada Farhan, who made 57, and Fakhar Zaman, who made 46, put on 84 runs, but the team slipped from 113-1 to be bowled out in 19.1 overs.
After Farhan fell, Zaman took charge and along with Saim Ayub kept up the attack with regular boundaries until Kuldeep struck in the 13th over.
Ayub fell to Kuldeep’s left-arm wrist spin as Pakistan lost six wickets for 21 runs.
Zaman fell short of his fifty and Kuldeep struck with three wickets in the 17th over, including Agha for eight.
India and Pakistan met earlier in the competition for the first time after deadly fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors, who have not played a bilateral series in more than a decade.
The two only meet in multi-nation tournaments at neutral venues as part of a compromise deal.
India comfortably won their earlier two matches, but in the Super Four clash Farhan mimicked a gun celebration after his half-century.
Rauf made gestures appearing to mock India’s military action during the four-day border conflict in May that left more than 70 people dead.
In the group match, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav had refused to shake hands with Agha, and the two teams kept up the stance for the rest of the tournament.
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