 "Indian spin legend R Ashwin took aim at senior Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf after the latter's expensive spell in the Asia Cup final led to the trophy slipping out of his team's grasp. Image: Reuters")
Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin trolled Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf after the latter was smashed for 50 runs in the Asia Cup final, which the Men in Blue won by 5 wickets on Sunday . Rauf had made headlines for his controversial gestures during the Super 4s meeting between the arch-rivals on 21 September but couldn’t quite back up his on-field theatrics with the ball in the high-voltage final a week later.
Rauf had attempted to troll Indian spectators at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during the Super 4s clash with “6-0” and “fighter jet” gestures, which led to the pacer getting fined by the ICC following a BCCI complaint.
And in Sunday’s final between India and Pakistan, Rauf leaked 17 runs in his second over at a crucial stage of the game, which released the pressure that the Men in Green had built on Suryakumar Yadav’s men with early wickets after setting them 147 to win.
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The senior pacer was later entrusted with bowling the final over with India needing to 10 win, and was hit for a six in the second delivery by middle-order batter Tilak Varma, who starred in the victory with an unbeaten 69. Rinku Singh would then hit the winning boundary two balls later in the only delivery that he faced in the entire tournament.
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More ShortsAshwin takes a jibe at Rauf while praising Tilak for match-winning knock
“Tilak Varma absolutely stole the show. He showed that he’s made of veins of ice. Outstanding knock. India were in a very precarious situation. Thanks to Haris Rauf, we won the match easily,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“Tilak Varma soaked the pressure. He played spin really well. He played sweeps, he was able to hit down the ground. He realised that the bounce on the wicket was a little sticky and started playing square off the wicket. People think that it is easy to hit this shot (six to Rauf) but falling in the line and picking it up is difficult,” he added.
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Tilak stitched valuable partnerships with Sanju Samson (24) and Shivam Dube (33) as India chased down the target with two balls to spare after being reduced to 20/3 inside the powerplay. This was after the Pakistanis suffered a dramatic collapse, going from 113/1 to 146 all out with left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav collecting 4/30, finishing as the tournament’s most successful bowler with 17 wickets.
India, in the process, extended their dominance in the continental competition by winning the Asia Cup for a ninth time – the second time in three editions in the T20 format.