Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi expressed disappointment following the tense India–Pakistan Asia Cup match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. He stated that the Indian players leaving the field without shaking hands with the Pakistan team was against the spirit of the game and demonstrated poor sportsmanship.
“Utterly disappointing to witness the lack of sportsmanship today,” Naqvi wrote on X. “Dragging politics into the game goes against the very spirit of sports. Let’s hope future victories are celebrated by all teams with grace.”
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bat. Pakistan struggled throughout their innings and managed to set a modest target of 128 runs. Openers Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris were dismissed early, and wickets continued to fall regularly.
Sahibzada Farhan played a steady innings and top-scored for his team with a knock of 40 runs. Towards the end, Shaheen Afridi played a quickfire cameo, scoring 33 runs off just 16 balls, including four sixes. Pakistan finished on 127 for nine in their 20 overs.
India began their chase with Abhishek Sharma once again leading the charge, scoring 31 runs off only 13 balls.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav, on his 35th birthday, anchored the chase with an unbeaten innings of 47, ably supported by Tilak Varma, who added 31 runs. India completed the game within 16 overs.
Instead of the customary post-match handshake between teams, Suryakumar and Shivam Dube exchanged fist bumps and headed straight towards India’s dressing room, while the Pakistani players shook hands among themselves.
As a result of this win, India now sit at the top of the Asia Cup Group A table with two victories and a net run rate of +4.793, while Pakistan remain second with one win from their two matches.
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