Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan scored his second consecutive half-century against Team India in the Asia Cup 2025 final at the Dubai International Stadium. However, Farhan didn't celebrate it with a gun-shot celebration on this occasion and merely did so with a straight bat as the ICC had issued him a warning.
The celebration from the right-handed batter had sparked massive controversy as he deployed his bat like a gun and started shooting it. The gesture was contentious, given the match between India and Pakistan was being played on the backdrop of a recent military skirmish between the two nations. After the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) complained, the ICC issued him a warning.
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The explosive right-handed batter needed only 35 deliveries to get to his second half-century. However, Varun Chakravarthy got the better of him for 57 off 38 deliveries as he holed out to deep mid-wicket, with Tilak Varma holding on to a sharp chance.
Suryakumar Yadav wins toss and opts to bowl first in Dubai
Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav has won the toss and has opted to bowl first in the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium. With Hardik Pandya missing out due to injury, India have decided to strengthen their batting by bringing in Rinku Singh, with Shivam Dube also returning. Pakistan, meanwhile, are unchanged.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris(w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
India had beaten their arch-rivals on both occasions before in this tournament.
