The now-familiar handshake narrative between India and Pakistan played out yet again, this time at the Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai.
At the toss at the ICC Academy ground, captains Ayush Mhatre and Farhan Yousaf stood shoulder to shoulder but stopped short of exchanging a handshake, adhering to the unwritten protocol that has governed meetings between the two sides in recent months. There were no smiles, no pleasantries — not even eye contact — as the captains went about their broadcast duties.
The strained optics were hardly unexpected. Since the Pahalgam terror attack, relations between the two cricketing neighbours have remained tense. When the senior teams met in the Asia Cup in September, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav had set the tone by declining a handshake, a stance that carried through the tournament and resurfaced during the Women’s World Cup in October.
With that backdrop, attention inevitably shifted to whether the junior teams would break from precedent. They didn’t.
Yousaf won the toss and opted to bowl, and both captains moved on briskly, interacting only with the broadcasters as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
On a green surface freshened by a brief spell of rain, India were asked to bat first and suffered an early setback when attacking opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi departed cheaply for 5. Mhatre and Aaron George then steadied the innings, but the stand was short-lived, with the skipper unable to convert his start.
George stood firm amid the turbulence. The Hyderabad batter, who opened his account with a fortunate inside-edge boundary, grew in confidence as wickets fell around him. Compact and composed, he top-scored with a well-crafted 85 off 88 balls, laced with 12 fours and a six.
Despite a promising start, India struggled to stitch together meaningful partnerships as the Pakistan bowlers struck at regular intervals. With limited support from the middle order, it was Kanishk Chouhan’s run-a-ball 46 that nudged India to a competitive, if not commanding, total.
India had entered the tournament on a high, demolishing the UAE by 234 runs in their opening match, powered by a Suryavanshi century.
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