Cricket & conflict: How Asia Cup finale became mocking match between India, Pakistan players

Dubai: India's ninth Asia Cup crown eventually became a mere footnote as the expected cordiality on a sports field gave way to confrontation in the final clash against Pakistan where the rival players mocked each other both during and after the match.

The tournament had been fraught with tension from the very start, and the animosity carried into the final, which India won by five wickets on a rather long Sunday night.

What started with India's refusal to shake hands to show solidarity with victims of Pahalgam terror attack and the Indian armed forces, descended into a full blown mocking match in the summit clash.

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah delivered a perfect yorker to dismiss Haris Rauf in the 18th over and, in a cheeky send-off, mimicked the Pakistan pacer's dipping-flight act celebration from the Super 4 clash.

Bumrah's gesture, a crashing-plane motion, went viral across social media.

Rauf's actions were an attempt to mock India's military action under 'Operation Sindoor' after the 26 tourists were gunned down by pakistan-backed terrorists earlier this year. Bumrah's gesture was India hitting back at that attempt at ridiculing the retaliatory action.

India then went on to secure a nerve-jangling win, but when Pakistan's Interior Minister and Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi stood on the dais to hand the winner's trophy, the Indian team refused to accept it from him.

The presentation ceremony got over an hour late without the champions laying their hands on the trophy as Naqvi had walked away with it.

The Indian players then turned to social media to celebrate the triumph, making it a point to highlight the missing trophy through emojis.

Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana mocked Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed's signature head-tilt celebration after dismissing Sanju Samson, while Varun Chakravarthy shared symbolic images of a lone tea cup, highlighting the missing trophy and medals that are yet to reach the victorious side.

The Indian players, including Hardik Pandya, even posted pictures of themselves with trophy emojis in place of the real cup.

The tension between the two sides had been palpable throughout the tournament.

India's 'No Handshake Policy' didn't sit well with the rival camp, which even blamed Zimbabwean match referee Andy Pycroft for the fiasco.

Rauf further escalated the hostilities during the Super 4 match with verbal taunts and an obscene gesture mimicking the downing of a plane, in retaliation to Indian supporters chanting 'Kohli, Kohli', a nod to the match-winning sixes Virat Kohli had struck off him during the 2022 T20 World Cup at Melbourne.

Rauf was at it again during the final, repeating the gesture that seems to have become his trademark celebration of late.

Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, however, expectedly found fault primarily with India's approach, calling it "disrespectful" towards the game and a poor example for young fans who look up to players as role models.

"What India have done this tournament is very disappointing. They are not disrespecting us by not shaking hands, they are disrespecting cricket. Good teams don't do what they did," he said at the post-match press conference.

The Indians, however, spent the evening celebrating minus the trophy.