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New Delhi: The biggest cricketing event is underway as per schedule as India locked horns with Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, September 14. Indian fans wanted BCCI to boycott the game, but with permission from the central government, amid geopolitical tensions, India faced off against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
In the midst of high tensions, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav distanced himself from the Pakistani captain, Salman Ali Agha, at the toss. Surya didn't shake hands, nor did he make eye contact with Salman, before or after the toss.
Before the game, the Indian skipper made up his mind that he would not oblige with a handshake and also left the decision of the customary handshake to the players, whether to shake hands with the arch-rivals or not.
All this mayhem took place because of the massive outrage from Indian fans in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack earlier this year.
However, Pakistan's skipper won the toss and elected to bat first. Hardik Pandya stunned Pakistan's opener Saim Ayub as he dismissed him on a golden duck to give a superb start to the Men in Blue.
Indian spinners again dominated their opponents as Pakistan only managed to score just 127/9 in 20 overs. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel picked up three and two wickets, respectively, and gave runs at just a 4.50 economy in their four overs. Varun Chakaravarthy also took one wicket and gave just 24 runs.
Sahibzada Farhan was the top scorer for his side by scoring 40 runs in 44 balls. At one point in time, Pakistan were struggling to complete 100 runs in the innings, but a cameo of Shaheen Afridi at the no. 9 position scoring 33 runs off 16 balls gave them a respectable score to defend.
Of the top eight Pakistani batters, only Fakhar Zaman's strike rate was over 100 in the match.
