The contest that once set the adrenaline rushing through millions of fans, has been reduced to a bland, one-sided game of cricket.
India had a cakewalk against Pakistan in their Asia Cup Group A encounter, winning the game by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare.
It wasn't a full house at the Dubai International Stadium. Perhaps, the fans could sense how the script was going to unfold on Sunday. India first bossed with the ball, and then their batters called the shots as Pakistan cut a sorry figure in the lopsided duel. It was India's second straight win in the competition.
Shaheen Shah Afridi’s late blitz (33 not out off 16 balls) did somehow lift Pakistan to 127/9, after they won the toss and opted to bat first on a surface that was slow, with the ball gripping on it. But the left-arm quick found no swing and erred in length as the Indian batters, Abhishek Sharma in particular, took full toll of that to ease the run chase.
Saim Ayub removed both Shubman Gill and Abhishek, but India were already scoring at well past 10 runs an over by then. The pitch, too, seemed to have got better for batting as skipper Suryakumar Yadav (47 not out) and Tilak Varma remained calm and uncomplicated during their 56-run third-wicket partnership to take India closer to victory.
The match was a validation of the difference in class and quality between the current Indian and Pakistani cricket teams. Strokeplay and shot selection-wise, the Indian batting group is way too superior to their Pakistani counterparts.
The lack of application from the specialist batters of Pakistan made the Indian bowlers' job easier. The tame dismissal of Ayub off the first legitimate ball of the game, bowled by Hardik Pandya, summed up the clueless mindset of the Pakistani batters.
Even before Kuldeep Yadav (3/18) came on to the attack, Pakistan were already off the track at 49/4 in 10 overs. Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman tried to stitch a partnership, but Axar Patel (2/18) ruined Pakistan's fightback. Kuldeep, especially, was a nightmare for the Pakisan batters with his guile.
No handshakes
Captain Surya and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Ali Agha were learnt to have not shaken hands after the toss. The captains of both teams shaking hands after the toss is an unwritten norm in the game.
With the Indo-Pak political tensions at a high, even the post-match customary handshakes between the players were skipped.