India won the Asia Cup 2025 after defeating Pakistan in a thrilling final. Rinku Singh scored the winning runs as India sealed their ninth Asia Cup title, and their second in the T20 format.
Batting first, Pakistan were bowled out for 146. India chased the target of 147 with only two balls left and five wickets still in hand. Tilak Varma played a match-winning knock of 69 not out from 53 balls. Shivam Dube supported him well with 33 runs from 22 balls. The two added 60 runs for the fifth wicket, which proved to be the turning point and guided India to victory.
This was also India’s third win over Pakistan in the same tournament, making it a clean sweep against their arch-rivals.
But the final was followed by plenty of drama.
The presentation ceremony, which should have been the moment of celebration for India, turned into a long and controversial affair.
The trophy was meant to be presented by ACC chief and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. However, because of political tensions between India and Pakistan, there was already doubt about whether India would accept the trophy from him if they won.
The presentation ceremony began nearly 45 minutes late, and the Indian players had to stand and wait on stage. This delay angered many, including former India cricketer and commentator Ravi Shastri, who was not happy that the players were kept waiting so long after such a hard match.
“It is ridiculous to see that it has been 45 minutes and players are being made to wait to lift the trophy or that presentation ceremony to happen,” Ravi Shastri said.
The delay was caused because the Pakistan players did not come out in time for the post-match ceremony. Having lost the final by five wickets after scoring only 146, the team returned late, which held up the entire process. When the Pakistan players finally walked onto the stage to collect their runners-up medals, they were booed by the crowd.
India stuck to their stand and refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, who apart from being the PCB chairman also serves as an interior minister in Pakistan.
As a result, the Indian players did not collect the winning trophy on the night of the final. The individual awards were handed out by other dignitaries, with Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma receiving their honours on stage. Pakistan captain Salman Agha accepted the runners-up cheque, after which the ceremony was wrapped up quickly.
Broadcaster Simon Doull told that the Indian team would not be taking the trophy that night, which officially ended the strange presentation ceremony.
“I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight, So that does conclude the post-match presentation,” Simon Doull said.
After the presentation ceremony, reports suggested that Mohsin Naqvi walked off the stage with both the winners’ trophy and the medals.
Reacting to this, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that India had only decided not to accept the trophy from the ACC chairman because he is one of the key leaders of Pakistan. But that did not mean the trophy and medals should be taken away altogether. He called the act unfortunate and unsporting, and added that India hoped the trophy and medals would be handed back as soon as possible.
“We had decided not to take the trophy from the ACC chairman who happens to be one of the leading leaders of Pakistan. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy along with the medals,” Devajit Saikia said.
At the post-match press conference, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav expressed his disbelief. He said he had never seen anything like this in cricket, where a champion team was denied the trophy it had worked so hard to win. Suryakumar explained that India’s victory was not easy, as they had been playing continuously since the 4th and put in two strong performances in two days to earn the title. He felt the team fully deserved the trophy.
“This is one thing which I have never seen since I have started playing cricket, since I have started following cricket that a champion team is denied to get a trophy,” Suryakumar Yadav said.
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Suryakumar also shared his personal view of what really mattered. He said the real trophies were his teammates and the support staff in the dressing room. According to him, those people and the memories of the team’s journey through the Asia Cup were more valuable than any silverware.
“If you tell me about the trophies, my trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys, all the support staff. Those are the real trophies who I have been a big fan of throughout this journey of Asia Cup,” he added.
Even though the team did not receive the official trophy, the Indian captain made sure his players did not miss the moment. On the podium, he pretended to lift an invisible trophy, which brought loud cheers as his teammates joined in, turning a tense situation into a light-hearted celebration.
After the match, all the Indian players from the winning squad shared their celebration posts on social media. Here’s a look at their reactions.
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