More than the on-field action, where Suryakumar Yadav’s team underlined the gulf with a commanding seven-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup Group A fixture, it was the off-field drama that dominated the spotlight on Sunday. On his birthday, Yadav capped the victory by expressing solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and dedicating the triumph to India’s Armed Forces engaged in Operation Sindoor.
Yadav’s remarks came after India notched up their second straight win of the tournament, overcoming their traditional rivals in the first cricketing encounter since the barbaric Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent retaliation in May, which targeted terror infrastructure across the border.
“We stand by the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack. We express our solidarity,” Yadav said during the post-match presentation.
“We want to dedicate today’s win to all our Armed Forces who showed a lot of bravery. Hope they continue to inspire us all and we give them more reasons on the ground whenever we get an opportunity to make them smile,” he added.
The scenes, after India’s comfortable win, underlined the frosty relations between the two countries. Once Yadav sealed the seven-wicket victory with a six, he walked off along with Shivam Dube without engaging in the customary post-match handshake with the Pakistan players. Later, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and head coach Mike Hesson approached the Indian camp, but no players came out to shake hands. Hesson appeared visibly displeased at the snub.
Left red-faced after the handshake snub, Salman Agha skipped the post-match presentation ceremony altogether, leaving only pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to attend and collect the award for hitting the most sixes in the contest.
This marked the second no-handshake episode of the day, after Yadav and Agha had declined to shake hands earlier at the toss, which was officiated by former India coach Ravi Shastri.
On the cricketing front, Pakistan endured another dismal outing with the bat. Opener Sahibzada Farhan battled hard to score a valiant 40 off 44 balls, but the rest of the line-up faltered on a docile track. Shaheen Afridi provided late fireworks with a quick 16-ball 33 not out, which helped Pakistan cross the 125-run mark. The damage had already been done earlier, with spinners Kuldeep Yadav (3/18) and Axar Patel (2/18) running through the middle order to restrict Pakistan to 127 for nine after skipper Salman Agha chose to bat first.
In response, India showed no nerves in the chase. The innings was launched in blistering fashion by Abhishek Sharma, who smashed 31 off just 13 deliveries, setting the tone alongside his childhood friend Shubman Gill. Even after Gill’s early dismissal, the momentum continued with Tilak Varma adding a run-a-ball 31. The highlight, however, came from skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who remained unbeaten on 47 off 37 balls, guiding India home in just 15.5 overs.