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DUBAI: India’s victorious captain Suryakumar Yadav defended his team’s decision not to shake hands with the defeated Pakistan players on Sunday, saying that it was taken in alignment with their government and cricket board.
India thumped Pakistan by seven wickets in a Group A Asia Cup clash in Dubai which ended on a bitter note as Indian players headed into their dressing room without a customary handshake.
Pakistan, in protest, refused to attend the post match ceremony as tensions flared in a match which was the first between the bitter rivals since May’s military action.
The cross border clashes were sparked after an attack in Pahalgam in Indian Kashmir in April which killed 26 people, with India blaming Pakistan.
New Delhi resisted the calls to boycott the match and cleared the team to play Pakistan only in multi-national events.
“We are aligned with the government and Board of Control for Cricket in India,” said Suryakumar after scoring 47 not out as India chased down a modest Pakistan target of 128 in 15.5 overs.
Left-armer Kuldeep Yadav led India’s spin rout with 3-18 as Pakistan were restricted to a below-par 127-9 in 20 overs.
Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson termed said he was disappointed with the Indian players’ refusal to shake hands.
“We were ready to shake hands at the end of the game,” said Hesson. “We are disappointed that the opposition did not do that.
“We went over there and they were already gone to the changing room, so that was obviously a disappointing way to finish the match.”
Hesson said that the decision not to send captain Salman Agha to the post match ceremony was “just in the flow of the things.”
“The team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a protest with match referee Andy Pycroft after the match,” said Pakistan’s team management in a statement after the match.
“The behavior of Indian players was against the spirit of sportsmanship,” it added. “That is why skipper Agha was not sent to the post match ceremony.”
India, with two wins from two, are nearly through to the next Super Fours stage of the tournament with their final group match against Oman on Friday.
Pakistan play UAE next on Wednesday and despite the defeat to India are expected to make the next stage.
 

RIGA: Germany pulled off a stunning 88-83 victory over Turkiye on Sunday to win the EuroBasket title for the first time since 1993, with point guard Dennis Schroeder draining a late jump shot and then adding a pair of high-pressure free throws in a thrilling climax.
The reigning World Cup champions put in a gritty defensive display, with Isaac Bonga coming up with key plays down the stretch before Schroeder put the team on his back and carried them over the line with a late-game point-guard masterclass.
Both sides began with a barrage of three-point attempts, blocks and bruising challenges in a high-octane first half that saw Turkiye take a six-point lead into the break, but that lead was quickly erased at the start of the third period as the Germans roared back.
Hampered after collecting three fouls over the first three periods, Turkiye’s Alperen Sengun came back into the game early in the fourth quarter and made a tough hook shot before taking a charge on the defensive end to preserve a slender three-point lead.
Cedi Osman went back up the floor and hit his sixth three of the night to double their lead as the momentum swung, but they could not shake the Germans off and when Sengun picked up his fourth foul with just under four minutes remaining, Bonga gave Germany a one-point lead on the next play.
With the game reaching boiling point, Schroeder scored with a driving layup before Bonga grabbed an offensive rebound and Schroeder made the most of it, hitting a pull-up jumper with 19 seconds left to give the Germans a three-point lead.
Sengun tried to level, heaving a three-pointer with Daniel Theis’s hand in his face, but the shot kissed the front of the rim, and Osman fouled Schroeder after the rebound, with the 31-year-old icing the two resulting shots from the line to secure a superb win.
In the bronze medal match, Greece had to hold off a frenetic late fightback to squeeze past Finland, almost blowing a 15-point lead in the final four minutes before hanging on to win 92-89 to secure third place in the tournament.