Trophy controversy overshadows the performance of players

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.

- Rituraj Borkakoty

Indian players celebrate without the trophy after winning the Asia Cup final against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday.

(PHOTOS BY MUHAMMAD SAJJAD)

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.

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.

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.

The 22-year-old left-hander from Hyderabad played the innings of his life. When Varma walked into bat, his team were tottering at 10 for two, chasing 147, against an inspired Pakistan team.