Plenty happened besides just cricket during the recently concluded India vs Pakistan Super Four game in Dubai on Sunday (Sep 21). While the Men in Blue walked out as winners by six wickets, completing their double over Pakistan thus far in this tournament, drama in abundance made headlines.
Be it for the heated exchanges between Abhishek Sharma and Pakistan’s pace duo (Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf) or Rauf making controversial war-related gestures while fielding, there was everything for the billions watching.
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh took to social media to reply to Rauf’s 6-0 gesture, referring to Pakistan downing six Indian fighter Rafale jets during Operation Sindoor, with a four-word reply. On his X handle, Harbhajan aptly replies to Rauf and rumours, writing,
“The One Sided Rivalry Chak de India ,” which also mentions 7-0 (India’s T20I win record against Pakistan in the past eight face-offs).
India and Pakistan faced off for the second time in this Asia Cup edition on Sunday. After beating them in their group stage encounter in Dubai by seven wickets, the Indian Team did it again a week later, chasing a modest 172 with seven balls remaining. Even though India’s fielding howlers left everyone frustrated, including the fans, their star-studded batting made up for it.
Abhishek’s 105-run stand for the first wicket with Shubman Gill laid the foundation for India’s run chase, with his 74 off 39 balls doing the job. India did lose several wickets in the middle overs, but an unbeaten 30 off 19 balls from Tilak Varma ensured India walked out as winners.
Rauf’s dirty gesture
Part of the pace attack, Rauf was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, returning with two wickets, including that of Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav on a duck. He, however, made headlines for the wrong reasons by mocking the Indian fans in attendance by making war-related gestures, sparking an online debate.
He also got involved in a heated exchange with Abhishek during one of his overs during the Powerplay. After Gill hammered him for a boundary off his last ball, Haris approached Abhishek standing at the other end, beginning an argument, only for the umpire to intervene and separate them. He also made 6-0 gestures towards the crowd, irking the fans.