Dubai, Sep 29 Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to India's famous victory in Operation Sindoor as he heaped praises on the national cricket team after it captured the Asia Cup crown for the ninth time with a five-wicket win over Pakistan in a gripping final at the Dubai International Stadium here on Sunday.
India’s success was scripted first by their spinners, with Kuldeep Yadav spearheading a stunning turnaround on a two-paced pitch. From 113/1 in the 13th over, Pakistan crumbled to 146 all out in 19.1 overs, losing their last nine wickets for just 33 runs.
Kuldeep, who conceded 23 runs in his first two overs, came back to take four wickets for seven in his next two, including three scalps in a game-changing 17th over. He was backed by Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy, who took two apiece, while Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with two at the death.
“#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” Modi posted on X soon after the victory.
Set 147 to win, India slipped to 20/3 after Abhishek Sharma miscued Faheem Ashraf, skipper Suryakumar Yadav fell to Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shubman Gill mistimed another stroke off Ashraf. But Tilak Varma stood tall. The left-hander anchored the chase with an unbeaten 69 off 51 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes in a knock to be remembered for ages.
Varma rebuilt with Sanju Samson (24) in a stand of 57, then added 60 with Shivam Dube (33), who was promoted in Hardik Pandya’s absence. Dube struck a towering six and a handful of boundaries before falling to Ashraf, but not before the pair had tilted the chase India’s way.
Home Minister Amit Shah also praised the team, referring in his post to India's famous victory in the recent armed confrontation with Pakistan that nearly blew up into a war when India retaliated to the Pahalgam terror attack by destroying terror infrastructure in Pakistan.
“A phenomenal victory. The fierce energy of our boys blew up the rivals again. Bharat is destined to win no matter which field,” wrote the Home Minister in his post on X.
Varma brought up his fifty with a straight drive, then kept his composure as the asking rate touched double figures. He whacked Haris Rauf for six in the 18th over before Rinku Singh, facing his first ball, finished the job in style with a boundary over mid-on.
Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan’s brisk 57 had powered Pakistan to a strong start, but once Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed him after an 84-run opening stand with Fakhar Zaman, the innings collapsed. Reckless aerial shots and tight Indian bowling ensured no recovery.
Jasprit Bumrah returned to uproot Haris Rauf’s off stump, bringing back memories of the pair’s verbal duel earlier in the tournament, before Mohammad Nawaz holed out to deep mid-wicket to end Pakistan’s innings under 150.
--IANS
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