LONDON: Last week’s column suggested that Pakistan were the favorites to beat Bangladesh for a place in the Asia Cup 2025 final. It also suggested that the contest would be close. Prior to the match I asked a respected match commentator for his prediction. His view was that Pakistan ought to win but this “depended on how they turned up on the day.” Pakistan have a reputation for mercurial performances. The match that unfolded was gripping and flawed. The body language and mannerisms of the players conveyed the tensions involved.
Pakistan were asked to bat first. The openers were in a frenetic mood, racing down the pitch to attack the bowling. It did them no good, three batters out for only 27 in the powerplay, a situation that worsened in the 11th over, Pakistan subsiding to 49 for five. The first six of the innings came in the 13th over from the bat of Shaheen Afridi, who was dropped twice before being finally caught for 19. Nawaz should have been caught for nought, but went on to make 25.
In the last eight overs Pakistan scored 80 to post a score of 135, a reachable target and better than had seemed likely just past the halfway stage. Afridi claimed two early wickets for Pakistan. Bangladesh attacked at the other end, but could not sustain their momentum, too many batters holing out to boundary fielders, and they ended 11 runs short.
Both teams were guilty of sloppy performances, perhaps to be expected given the status of the match. Additionally, Bangladesh may have felt harshly treated. The team played India and Pakistan on consecutive days, leaving players with almost no recovery time before what was effectively a semifinal clash.
So, the scene was set for an India v Pakistan final, something that had seemed, if not an inevitability, a more than likely outcome of a tournament riddled with perversity. Pakistan were asked to bat and made a much more circumspect and mature start than against Bangladesh, scoring 37 without loss in five overs, accelerating to 77 off nine overs, propelled by Sahibzada Farhan. In the 10th over he became over-ambitious and was caught on the midwicket boundary, two deliveries away from the halfway stage, for 57.
The break gave a rattled, and under pressure, Indian team the chance to regroup and exchange what looked to be some harsh words. They worked, as the Pakistan innings subsequently lost its way, falling from 113 for one to 131 for five off 15.3 overs and then 146 all out.
It was the Indian spinners who turned the tide, Kuldeep claiming four for seven in two overs. An innings that had promised to generate a potentially tense final had imploded.
Blithe assumptions that India would cruise to victory were shattered as three wickets fell for 20 runs in the first four overs. Reconstruction of the innings was crafted by Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma, who went on to be India’s hero. Impossibly strong on the leg side with sweeps and clean hitting, his undefeated 69 guided India to victory with two deliveries to spare.
Immediately after the winning runs were scored, the batters leapt into the air in joint celebration and then ran off in the direction of their teammates, who engulfed them. There was, of course, no consideration of their opponents. This is often the case in the first glow of victory, after which there is recognition of the defeated. In this case, it was as if a wall had been built to separate them. If so, it worked. At the post-match awards ceremony, Mohsin Naqvi, the chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board and president of the Asian Cricket Council, was due to present the trophy and medals. The Indian team refused because he is also Pakistan’s interior minister. Whether they would have accepted from a Pakistani who does not hold a political position is unknown but, given that they refused to shake hands with the players, it seems unlikely. Naqvi stood his ground and a stand-off ensued. The crowd and assembled media were confused, probably no more so than the MC, Simon Doull, who, unfairly, was left in limbo on stage.
Eventually, the trophy was taken away and the presentations began. India’s captain remarked that “since he had been playing cricket … he had never seen a champion team be denied receiving the trophy.” This was a disingenuous comment, failing to recognize that there are two sides to every story and that this one was no exception. The view of Pakistan’s captain, that India had disrespected cricket, is more likely to have struck a chord with neutrals, and even some who were not.
It appears that India have reached the point where their control of cricket, both politically and financially, has instilled an attitude that their actions and view are always right and should brook no opposition.
In the aftermath of the Asia Cup, cricket elsewhere is trying to continue as normal. The Women’s ODI World Cup has opened in India and Sri Lanka, with India due to play Pakistan on Oct. 5 in Colombo, where no handshakes are expected.
Just along the way from the Dubai International Stadium, in Sharjah, the Nepal men’s team twice defeated the once-mighty West Indies to claim a T20 series and their first victory over a full ICC member. This was a momentous achievement and should have had its place in the sun uncluttered by the India-Pakistan fracas.
Sadly, it is the fracas that will be remembered in cricket’s history; one in which the game was openly weaponized for political purposes, perhaps permanently. If it were any other ICC member, sanction would be quickly applied, as it has been with Sri Lanka for political involvement in governance matters and US cricket for governance malfeasance.
India appear to be immune and unchallenged for any such accusation. If the ICC acted as a proper governing body, it should be considering whether India v Pakistan matches should be suspended for the foreseeable future, since they clearly damage the game’s reputation. Other considerations outweigh such thoughts, to the game’s detriment.
