In the Dubai International Stadium, the DJ played the chart-topping songs from both sides of the border, while the Asia Cup clash between famed rivals, India and Pakistan, certainly lacked sporting contest elbows.
Besides missing the drama of an India-Pakistan match, the missing the customary handshake of sportsmanship as players walked off and refused to greet each other at the end of the match was truly bizarre.
To some, it was more ‘not surprising’ than ‘shocking’ given the cacophony and the so-called ‘calls of boycott’ that filled the air more than the two countries celebrating the clash that took place after four months, when nuclear war was imminent between the two countries.
With the new-look Pakistan team, the mission remains clear, as they look to use the new squad to formulate a deeper run from the Pakistan team next year at the T20 World Cup.
However, the way they played on Sunday makes it clear, and even very safe to say, that the team of Salman Agha has so much work to do.
Exposing the gulf between the two teams was India’s complete dominance on the field. Their bowlers suffocated the batting unit, while the other team easily defended their attacks.After keeping Pakistan to 127 for 9 thanks to wonderful spells from spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4-0-28-3), Axar Patel (4-0-28-2), Varun Chakravarthy (4-0-28-1), and seam attack leader Jasprit Bumrah (4-0-32-2), India turned to home plate and won the game in 15.5 overs.
The way Abhishek Sharma (31 off 13 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) slammed fours and hit sixes on Shaheen Shah Afridi was eye-popping and something else.
Even though India lost two wickets by four overs, Sharma’s quick headstart ensured there was no way Pakistan was making a comeback.
Suryakumar Yadav with 47 off 37 balls and Tilak Varma with 31 had a blast batting under the lights, while the former sky-rocketed the Indian fans with some devilish strokes.
Emphatically India won the match with 7 wickets remaining and 25 balls to spare. Suryakumar’s men started sending warning signals to the rest of the teams, as it looked like India was close to adding the 2025 Asia Cup trophy to the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 ICC Champions Trophy they had recently nabbed.
Pakistan’s problems started even before the match began, Agha’s decision to bat first instantly backfired.
Saim Ayub, young opener, was captured by A. Bumrah without getting a run in the second match, even sent a catch to point while batting, all because Hardik Pandya was lucky enough to shred the first 2 balls of the match.
Sahibzada Farhan (40) attempted to defend himself, but the other batters succumbed to a mix of injudicious shot decisions and skillful bowling from India.
Had it not been for that cameo from Shaheen (33 not out off 16 balls, with 4 sixes), Pakistan seeming to be out of the game at 83 for seven in the 17th over, would have been well on their way to a more disgraceful score.
That would have been a real calamity for those Indian and Pakistani fans based in the UAE who turned up in large numbers to support their sides.