India Defeat Pakistan To Retain Asia Cup Title

KABUL (Pajhwok): India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to retain the Asia Cup.

It was the rivals' third meeting in the tournament, with India's victory securing their ninth Asia Cup crown, the BBC reported.

Put in to bat first, Pakistan made a strong start as Sahibzada Farhan (57) and Fakhar Zaman (46) shared an opening stand of 84. They reached 113-1 with 44 balls remaining, but a dramatic collapse followed.

Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (4-30) spearheaded India's fightback, with Pakistan losing nine wickets for just 33 runs and being bowled out for 146 with five balls left in the innings.

India's reply began poorly as they lost three wickets in the first three overs. However, Tilak Varma steadied the chase with a superb unbeaten 69, supported by Shivam Dube (33) and Sanju Samson (24), guiding India to victory with two deliveries to spare.

“It is one of the best innings of my life,” Tilak said.“It was a bit pressured, but I wanted to stay in and finish the game.”

Controversy followed the match when Indian players did not reappear for the trophy presentation.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the team refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board.

India's captain Suryakumar Yadav remarked:“It's one thing that I have never seen in my career - a champion team being denied its trophy.”

Pakistan skipper Salman Agha admitted his side fell short:“It is a tough pill to swallow. We couldn't rotate the strike properly, and that is why we didn't get the score we wanted. We need to sort out our batting.”

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