Sports
Pakistan and India meet again at Asia Cup after handshake row
India and Pakistan clash again in the Asia Cup on Sunday, renewing one of cricket’s fiercest rivalries a week after their last match was overshadowed by a handshake row.
India won the September 14 group match by seven wickets in Dubai and afterwards refused to shake hands with their opponents, angering Pakistan.
It was the first meeting between the neighbours since a four-day armed conflict in May left more than 70 people dead.
The Pakistan Cricket Board lodged a protest with the International Cricket Council (ICC), saying that match referee Andy Pycroft had told skipper Salman Agha not to approach Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav for a handshake at the toss.
The PCB demanded that Pycroft be removed from their matches and threatened to withdraw from the eight-team T20I competition.
Their last group game was held up for an hour before the PCB said Pycroft had apologised, and the match, with the Zimbabwean in charge, eventually went ahead.
Pakistan beat the hosts, the United Arab Emirates, to qualify for the next stage, the Super Fours, and set up another meeting with India in Dubai.
Indian media reported that the team plans to stick to its no-handshake policy for Sunday’s clash.
India spinner Kuldeep Yadav sought to defuse the controversy.
“When you step onto the field, it’s just a batter in front of you. I have always approached it this way against Pakistan,” he said ahead of India’s last group game, against Oman on Friday.
Agha also stuck to sports.
“If we play good cricket like we have played in the last few months, I think we’ll be good against any side,” the Pakistan captain told reporters.
Simmering tensions
Because of fraught political ties, nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan only meet at neutral venues during multi-team tournaments.
Tensions soared ahead of the Asia Cup after the two countries engaged in their worst conflict since 1999. The hostilities in May left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire.
The conflict was triggered by an April attack on civilians in Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir that New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing, a charge Islamabad denies.
India resisted calls to boycott the first Pakistan match.
A potential third India-Pakistan showdown looms if both sides qualify for the final on September 28 in Dubai.
India lifted the Asia Cup in its last, 50-over edition and are favourites to retain the crown.
India and Pakistan advanced to the next stage from Group A, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh qualified from Group B.
Sri Lanka face Bangladesh on Saturday in the first Super Fours fixture.
Sri Lanka, unbeaten so far, look dangerous while Bangladesh carry the underdog tag under skipper Litton Das.
Along with regional bragging rights, the Asia Cup serves as build-up towards the T20 World Cup in February-March in India and Sri Lanka.
Washington has two games left. Just getting through them would be a success at this point.
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Scenes of jubilation erupted at the ICC Academy in Dubai as Pakistan thumped India in the Men’s U19 Asia Cup final on Sunday.
The Green Shirts sealed a commanding 191-run victory in the final after bowling out their arch-rivals for 156 runs.
As Ali Raza dismissed Deepesh Devendran, India’s last batter to fall, jubilant Pakistani players and support staff stormed the field, waving national flags.
Among the support staff was former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who serves as the national U19 team’s mentor.
Pakistan lifted the Men’s U19 Asia Cup title courtesy of their brilliant batting, followed by a stellar bowling performance.
The game saw Pakistan set a daunting 348-run target for India, who could score 156 runs before getting bowled out in 26.2 overs.
Raza was the standout bowler for Pakistan, taking four wickets for 42 runs in his 6.2 overs, while Abdul Subhan, Mohammad Sayyam, and Huzaifa Ahsan chipped in with two each.
Batting first, Sameer Minhas’s monumental 172-run knock helped Pakistan post 347/8 in their 50 overs.
The Green Shirts got off to a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Minhas and Hamza Zahoor (18) put together 31 runs before the latter fell victim to Henil Patel in the fourth over.
Following the early setback, Usman Khan joined Minhas in the middle, and the duo led Pakistan into a commanding position by knitting a brisk 92-run partnership for the second wicket off just 79 deliveries.
The platform-setting stand culminated in the 17th over when Khilan Patel got Usman Khan caught at long-on. The left-handed batter made a vital contribution with a 45-ball 35, featuring three fours and a six.
Minhas was then involved in another crucial partnership for Pakistan, a blistering 137-run stand for the third wicket with Ahmed Hussain, who made 56 off 73 deliveries, laced with three fours and a six.
The right-handed opener then shared a 42-run partnership with captain Farhan Yousaf until eventually being dismissed by Deepesh Devendran on the penultimate delivery of the 43rd over.
He remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with 172 off 113 deliveries, studded with 17 fours and nine sixes.
His dismissal sparked a collapse which saw Pakistan lose four more wickets, including that of captain Yousaf (19) in quick succession, and consequently brought the total down to 327-8 in 46.4 overs.
Following the slump, Mohammad Sayyam and Niqab Shafiq added valuable runs at the backend, playing unbeaten cameos of 13 and 12, respectively.
For India, Deepesh Devendran led the way with three wickets but was expensive as he conceded 83 runs in his 10 overs, followed by Henil Patel and Khilan Patel with two each, while Kanishk Chouhan could bag one.
Tulane and James Madison were overmatched against more powerful programs in their playoff openers. Let the annual whining commence.
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