CHENNAI: A lot of drama unfolded after India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday. Even as the match got over before midnight IST (Indian Standard Time), the presentation ceremony could begin only at 1:15AM and was wrapped up in the next 15 to 30 minutes with the presenter Simon Doull clearly informing that the Indian cricket team had decided not to collect their awards.
It happened soon after Abhishek Sharma, the Indian opener, who hammered 314 from seven innings at a strike rate of 200 in the tournament, was given the Player of the Series award. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation," former New Zealand player Doull said during the post-match presentation. Interestingly, Suryakumar Yadav and Co also celebrated their title triumph at the venue albeit without the trophy.
Earlier, the Pakistan players collected their runners-up medals from Aminul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board and executive board member of the Asian Cricket Council with the Pakistan Cricket Board chief and ACC president Mohsin Naqvi also present on the dais. Sources said that the Indian cricket team had conveyed to the ACC that it will not accept the award from Naqvi following which the decision was made and the same was communicated by Doull.
Incidentally, it all began at the toss ahead of the summit clash when two presenters — India's Ravi Shastri and Pakistan's Waqar Younis — conducted the snap interviews of captains of both the teams.
It was learnt that the PCB had sent a request to the ACC for a neutral presenter. When the Asian board informed the BCCI about the PCB's request, the Indian board clearly said Shastri couldn't be replaced. Given the situation, it was decided that Waqar would have an interaction with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha.
Tilak Player of the Match
Fittingly enough, Tilak Varma was adjudged Player of the Final for his unbeaten 53-ball 69. Speaking on his innings, the Hyderabad left-hand batter said, "It was a bit of pressure, but I wanted to stay at the wicket and finish games. They were mixing up the pace. I wanted to just stay calm and finish the game for my country. It was a fantastic knock by (Sanju) Samson, it was really important for the team. The way (Shivam) Dube batted was also helpful for me and the country. Credit goes to both of them as well. We have prepared for every position. Gauti bhai (head coach Gautam Gambhir) said to be flexible in every position. I was prepared to bat anywhere and I was backing on my game. I was working hard. Especially on wickets that are on the slower side like this…sweep shots, rotating strike, that has helped me. It is really special - one of the best innings in my life. It goes for every Indian. Chak de India."
The Pakistan skipper said the wickets they lost in heaps cost them the final. "It is a tough pill to swallow. We could not finish well in the batting. Bowling, we gave everything. If we could have finished well, it would have been a different story. We could not rotate the strike properly and we lost too many wickets. That was the reason we could not score what we wanted. We have to sort out our batting very soon. They bowled really well, outstandingly well. They needed 63 off six overs, I thought we had the game. The bowlers bowled really well, we have to give them credit, but the batting was a concern," Agha said.