India might have won the Asian Games men’s cricket final against Pakistan by 19 runs, but the scorecard doesn’t reveal the entire picture, as the game was a little too close to call, and the Sahibzada Farhan-led Green Shirts gave the Men in Blue a real scare in the gold medal match. Hasan Nawaz threatened to take the game away with his 96, but in the end, Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube held their nerve in the death overs to help Shreyas Iyer’s team clinch gold and defend their title at the Asian Games.
There was plenty of drama in the game and the first flashpoint in the third over of the game when Saim Ayub dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for 15 off 9 balls. The youngster started off well and was threatening to take the game away, but Ayub cut short his innings, giving Pakistan the first breakthrough.
As soon as the reverse sweep led to the dismissal of the 15-year-old, Ayub seemingly mocked the youngster, making the ‘baby cradle’ gesture. Sooryavanshi didn’t respond and walked back to the Indian dugout. However, Ayub’s celebration hasn’t gone down well in Pakistan, with Kamran Akmal calling out the all-rounder for the act.
The topic of the send-off to Sooryavanshi was started by the anchor during a discussion, saying, “Did you see that action? How unfortunate is that? You are playing such good cricket. You are giving India competition after such a long time. These things don’t look good.”
Replying to this on the ‘Game Plan’ YouTube show, Akmal replied, “These things have been happening for a long time. Our performance hasn’t been great, but we are doing things for social media. The management should think about this. It’s international cricket. No matter whether he is 13, 14 or 15, he’s playing international cricket. Saim Ayub is not a kid. He should focus on his performances.”
Sooryavanshi started off well
The left-handed opening batter started the innings off well, hitting Saad Masood for a couple of sixes in the second over of the game. However, the decision to play reverse sweep against Ayub cost him his wicket. Sooryavanshi played both the semi-final and final of the Asian Games, leading to Sanju Samson walking out to bat at No.3.
Abhishek Sharma (61), Tilak Varma (51*) and Shivam Dube (27) played out of their skins to help the Men in Blue post 211/6 in 20 overs. India then started off well with the ball, but Hasan Nawaz and Ayub brought the Pakistan innings back on track. However, the target became a little too much in the final two overs, and Shivam Dube helped India seal a 19-run win.