How Asia Cup Trophy Controversy Overshadowed The Performance Of Three Players

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Amid the uproar over the highly controversial presentation ceremony, where the victorious Indian team refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, president of the Asian Cricket Council, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, it's perhaps easy now to get distracted by all the non-cricket issues.

But it would be criminal to ignore the players who rose to the occasion and produced a classic India-Pakistan last-over thriller in the final at a packed Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

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Credit must go to the Pakistan team for giving the red-hot Indian side a run for the money. If only their middle-order batters had shown good temperament and added 20 more runs, the result of the final could have been different. Their bowlers, barring Haris Rauf (3.4-0-50-0), kept Pakistan in the game even as their batters slumped to 146 all out after a fantastic start.

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For India, this was the fourth title in their fifth major tournament since 2023, a testament to their incredible depth of talent and their ability to win difficult matches in white-ball formats.

But having beaten Pakistan twice comfortably in the Asia Cup, neutrals were expecting another one-sided game on Sunday.

Three players played sensational cricket on Sunday as the two teams delivered a truly spectacular game of cricket.

Tilak Varma

The 22-year-old left-hander from Hyderabad played the innings of his life. When Varma walked into bat, his team were tottering at 20 for three, chasing 147, against an inspired Pakistan team.

The target of 147 was not big, but the challenge to stay calm was certainly very big in the final of a tournament dominated by several controversial incidents.

Varma overcame all of that - Pakistan's incisive bowling and the weight of expectations from the Indian fans - as he made a sublime 69 not out off 53 balls (3 fours, 4 sixes).

The Mumbai Indians player steadied the ship with a 57-run fourth-wicket partnership with Sanju Samson before another crucial stand with Shivam Dube took India to the brink of victory.

When Dube fell in the last ball of the penultimate over with India still needing 10 off six balls, Pakistan still had a faint hope.

But Varma knocked the stuffing out of Pakistan with his fourth six of the innings in the second ball delivered by Haris before Rinku Singh hit the winning runs.

While opener Abhishek Sharma, the highest scorer of the tournament with 314 runs, took the player-of-the-tournament award, it was Varma's combination of talent and big-match temperament that earned India a memorable win.

Kuldeep Yadav

The left-arm spinner averages just 13.12 in T20 Internationals - an amazing record for a slow bowler in a format built for batters to entertain fans with big hits. Against Pakistan in T20Is, Kuldeep averages 9.87, which is phenomenal.

No wonder Kuldeep was the man who brought India back into the contest on Sunday after Pakistan got off to a flying start.

After openers Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman put on 84 in 9.4 overs for the first wicket, Pakistan were in a commanding position.

It was Kuldeep's turn and guile which triggered the stunning Pakistan batting collapse as he dismissed Saim Ayub, Salman Agha and Shaheen Shah Afridi before removing Faheem Ashraf to return with figures of 4-0-30-4 as the Pakistanis lost nine wickets for 33 runs.

The 30-year-old finished the tournament with 17 wickets, showing his credentials once again as the premier spinner in white-ball formats.

Kuldeep thrives against Pakistan, having taken 23 wickets in 10 matches - seven ODIs and three T20Is - against the arch-rivals.

While India had several heroes on Sunday, without Kuldeep's four wickets, Pakistan would have put a big total on the board at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Sahibzada Farhan

The opening batsman raised Pakistan's hopes of winning the first match against India in the 2025 Asia Cup with his belligerent half-century.

If Pakistan had won the final against India, a team which dominated them in the first two games, Suryakumar Yadav's men would have returned home empty-handed.

For long periods in the final, after Pakistan were asked to bat first by Indian skipper Suryakumar, it seemed Salman Agha's team were on track to cause a big upset and take the trophy home.

And Farhan (57, 38 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes) was the man who provided Pakistan with the early sparks.

His 84-run first-wicket stand with Fakhar Zaman (46) set the tone. While Zaman was solid, Farhan was fearless against the Indian bowling attack, showing his full range of shots.

When he hit Jasprit Bumrah for a maximum in the fourth over the long off boundary, Farhan became the first batter to hit three sixes against the star Indian fast bowler in T20 Internationals.

The 29-year-old played a superb knock, his second straight half-century against India in the tournament, to put Pakistan in the driver's seat.

But the Pakistan middle-order failed to build on the start provided by him and Zaman.

If only they had added 15 or 20 more runs on a wicket where their bowlers bowled their hearts out, Pakistan would have celebrated a rare win over India.

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