Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew parallels between his country&rsquo;s triumph at the Asia Cup 2025 over Pakistan and the military conflict in May, in which India lost six fighter jets, including Rafales.&nbsp;The move prompted a sharp response from Pakistan&rsquo;s interior minister and Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi.&nbsp;After India defeated Pakistan in the final on Sunday, Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter: &ldquo;Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same &ndash; India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-6" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-6&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972373287985401858&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=5a49b7e06affe931a75395c47318369856134ebf&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; min-height: 0px;"></iframe></div> Naqvi retorted that equating sport with war distorted both history and the spirit of cricket. &ldquo;If war was your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan&rsquo;s hands. No cricket match can rewrite that truth,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;Dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game.&rdquo;</div></div>&nbsp;The exchange comes after the Indian cricket team refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi at the post-match ceremony.&nbsp;&ldquo;I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight,&rdquo; said Simon Doull, the presenter for the host broadcaster. &ldquo;So that does conclude the post-match presentation.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-7" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-7&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972458690084229221&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=5a49b7e06affe931a75395c47318369856134ebf&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="width: 550px; height: 486px; min-height: 0px; position: static; visibility: visible;"></iframe></div> Naqvi waited on stage for over 45 minutes before leaving with the trophy, while the Indian players celebrated with an imaginary one.</div></div>Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav insisted the decision was not politically motivated.&nbsp;&ldquo;I think this is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing cricket, started following cricket, that a champion team is denied a trophy, that too a hard-earned one. I feel we deserved it. I can&rsquo;t say anything more; I&rsquo;ve summed it up really well. If you tell me about trophies, my trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys with me, the support staff, those are the real trophies throughout this journey in the Asia Cup.&rdquo; Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the trophy remain unknown.<div class="fr-embed responsive-video"> </div>

Cricket

Indian PM compares military conflict to 'games field'; Tweet prompts sharp response from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi; Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav insists the decision is not politically motivated.




Modi likens Asia Cup win to war, Pakistan’s Naqvi hits back

DUBAI: Tilak Varma hit an unbeaten 69 as India defeated Pakistan by five wickets for a record-extending ninth Asia Cup title on Sunday. Chasing 147 for victory, India depended on Varma&#39;s 53-ball knock and a key 60-run stand with fellow left-hander Shivam Dube to reach their target with two balls to spare in Dubai. Dube got out for 33 at the end of the 19th over and, with India needing 10 off the last six deliveries, Varma struck a six and Rinku Singh hit the winning boundary as the pair ran off to celebrate with their team. India&rsquo;s third victory&nbsp;Kuldeep Yadav set up India&#39;s third victory over their rivals in the regional tournament played under the T20 format as his figures of 4-30 helped bowl out Pakistan for 146. India were in trouble at 3-20 and 4-77, but Varma kept calm to anchor the chase as he hit three fours and four sixes in his knock. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson&#39;s 24 and then a supporting knock by Dube took India home at a nearly packed stadium.&nbsp; Pakistan started strongly as openers Sahibzada Farhan, who made 57, and Fakhar Zaman, who made 46, put on 84 runs but the team slipped from 113-1 to be bowled out in 19.1 overs. Farhan&rsquo;s second fifty&nbsp;Farhan fell after his second fifty in this edition of the Asia Cup after the batter attempted a second successive six off spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Zaman took charge and along with Saim Ayub kept up the attack with regular boundaries until Kuldeep struck in the 13th over. Ayub fell to Kuldeep&#39;s left-arm wrist spin as Pakistan lost six wickets for 21 runs. Zaman fell short of his fifty and Kuldeep struck with three wickets in the 17th over, including skipper Salman Agha for eight. The Asia Cup was widely seen as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February-March of next year.

Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 led India to a five-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup final, securing their ninth title. Kuldeep Yadav’s 4-30 bowling helped restrict Pakistan to 146, with key partnerships guiding India home.

Varma guides India to Asia Cup final win over Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan head into Sunday&rsquo;s Asia Cup final against India with history on their side, having won more final face-offs against their arch-rivals in multi-nation tournaments.&nbsp;The neighbors have met five times in finals of events featuring five or more teams. Pakistan emerged victorious in three, while India won two. India clinched the 1985 Benson &amp; Hedges World Championship and the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup final. Pakistan lifted the Austral-Asia Cup in 1986 and 1994, before routing India by 180 runs in the 2017 Champions Trophy final at The Oval.&nbsp;This will be their first-ever meeting in an Asia Cup final. Strengths and weaknesses India&rsquo;s batting firepower remains their strongest asset, with Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav anchoring the top order and Hardik Pandya providing balance in the middle. But questions linger over their lower-order depth, particularly against quality pace.&nbsp;Pakistan, in contrast, are banking on their fast-bowling trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Faheem Ashraf to tilt the contest. Their batting, however, has lacked consistency, with Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub under pressure to deliver alongside skipper Salman Ali Agha.&nbsp;Form and milestones India have won two of the last four Asia Cups unbeaten. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh recently became the first Indian bowler to reach 100 wickets in T20 internationals. Pakistan&rsquo;s Haris Rauf is the joint-leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 scalps.&nbsp;Likely line-ups India (probable): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.&nbsp;Pakistan (probable): Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.

This is the first time the arch-rivals are meeting in the Asia Cup final.

Pakistan boast better finals record against India before Asia Cup decider

Reuters

DUBAI: Defending champions India survived Pathum Nissanka&#39;s blistering hundred and some intense Super Over drama before beating Sri Lanka in a dead rubber to maintain their unbeaten run in the Asia Cup on Friday.&nbsp;With India having already secured their place in Sunday&#39;s final against Pakistan and Sri Lanka eliminated, the Super Fours clash was of merely academic interest, but it turned out to be the most exciting game of this year&#39;s tournament. <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1971653003137765438&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=65d2fdf47b271fa8ce005db744d2b4f29fcb7e2e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 902px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1971653003137765438"></iframe></div></div></div>&nbsp;Sri Lanka gave a good account of themselves and matched India&#39;s 202-5 to force the Super Over after Nissanka (107) smashed the first individual hundred of this year&#39;s tournament.&nbsp;Sri Lanka, however, managed only two runs in the Super Over before losing both wickets in five deliveries from Arshdeep Singh.&nbsp;India skipper Suryakumar Yadav took three runs from the first delivery from Wanindu Hasaranga to seal their victory matter-of-factly.&nbsp;Earlier, put into bat, 20-overs world champions India racked up the tournament&#39;s first 200-plus total, riding opener Abhishek Sharma&#39;s third consecutive fifty in the tournament.&nbsp;Abhishek, the world&#39;s top-ranked T20 batter, maintained his red-hot form with a sizzling 61 off 31 balls.&nbsp;Opening partner Shubman Gill fell for four, and skipper Suryakumar&#39;s (12) slump in form continued but India did not really suffer as Abhishek raced to a 22-ball fifty.&nbsp;Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka removed Abhishek, but Tilak Varma, who made 49 not out, and Sanju Samson (39) maintained the pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers.&nbsp;In their chase, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis for a duck in the first over but cruised to 72-1 after the six powerplay overs.&nbsp;India rested pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, while Hardik Pandya bowled just one over before leaving the field.&nbsp;Nissanka needed 25 balls to bring up his fifty and Kusal Perera (58) could not be denied his half-century either.&nbsp;Spinner Varun Chakravarthy broke the 127-run stand when he dismissed Perera.&nbsp;Nissanka raced to a 52-ball hundred but fell in the first ball of the last over, which ended with Sri Lanka also on 202-5 forcing the Super Over.

Asia Cup 2025, Super Four, Sri Lanka vs India

 The defending champions now face arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on Sunday.

Articles tagged with "Asia Cup 2025"

Modi likens Asia Cup win to war, Pakistan’s Naqvi hits back

Varma guides India to Asia Cup final win over Pakistan

Pakistan boast better finals record against India before Asia Cup decider

India overcome Nissanka ton and Super Over drama to edge out Sri Lanka