The recent India-Pakistan encounters at the Asia Cup 2025 has been overshadowed by political messages and high tension rather than the cricket on the field. As India and Pakistan engaged in a much-debated encounter at the ongoing Asia Cup for the first time in group stages, captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to engage in customary rituals and later during the post-match presentation ceremony he dedicated the win to the Indian Armed Forces and expressed solidarity with Pahalgam terror attack victims.
Pakistan responded to it by lodging a complaint against match referee Andy Pycroft and tension continued in the following encounter between the two in the Super Four stage. Then it was the Pakistan players, who once again got outplayed, but didn't refrain from showing plenty of aggression towards the opposition and the Indian fans present at the Dubai International Stadium.
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan broke out in 'gun salute' following his half-century, while Pakistan players Haris Rauf and Faheem Ashraf were spotted making provocative gestures towards the spectators.
The teams are now all set to meet for a third time in the summit-clash, which is also the first Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan in 41 years.
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The tension is at an all-time high and it also reached the Women's ODI World Cup, which starts from September 30 in Guwahati and is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. India will come up against arch-rivals Pakistan at Colombo on October 5 and Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of the Indian Women's Team, was asked about how she looks into the clash.
"Well, we can only control one thing which is playing cricket on the field and we are not thinking of other things. Because as cricketers, we can only control the things we have in our hand. But in other parts, I have zero control and I don't even take those things into my mind. We don't even discuss those things in the dressing room. We are only here to play cricket and our focus is only on cricket," she noted during the captains' press meet organised by the ICC.
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