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India on Sunday pulled off a thumping six-wicket victory over Pakistan in an Asia Cup Super 4 match, riding on opener Abhishek Sharma’s fiery knock of 74 off 39 balls.

Abhishek and Shubman Gill (47) formed a formidable opening partnership as the men in blue chased down the competitive target of 172 runs with seven balls to spare.

Sent to bat first, Pakistan posted a total of 171/5 with Sahibzada Farhan scoring 58 off 45 balls. Despite being the highest run-scorer for his side, Farhan sparked an outrage among Indian fans in the middle of his innings when he mimicked firing an AK-47 rifle with his bat.

Farhan’s wild celebration was in the 10th over of Pakistan’s innings when he hit a spectacular sixer to finish his half-century.

Many of the Indian fans took to X to express their anger over Farhan’s gesture that came amid heightened tension between New Delhi and Islamabad following Operation Sindoor and the boycott calls from opposition parties.

India launched air strikes against the terrorist hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in May in retaliation to the Pahalgam terrorist attack. India’s action sparked a two-day-long military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, which ended on May 10 following a ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s ill-tempered match, played amid the no-handshake policy row, had also its share of skirmishes.

After being hit for a boundary, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi had a word for Gill, who showed him where the ball went.

Similarly, when Haris Rauf was given a belt treatment by Abhishek, he tried to get into a physical altercation, only to be stopped by the umpires.

Political row

Farhan’s AK-47 gesture also triggered a political row in India. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut termed it a “peak humiliation”.

“Reached his fifty and gripped the bat like an AK-47, firing boundaries! This spit in the face of BCCI & Modi govt is peak humiliation. For enabling India’s shame, Jay Shah deserves the Bharat Ratna. #AsiaCup2025 #IndVsPak,” Raut wrote on X.

The Sena (UBT) was among the parties which had called for a boycott of the match, citing Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism.

Samajwadi Party’s Sharad Saran also hit out at Farhan. “People are abusing him [Sahibzada Farhan]saying he did this to repeat and remind others of the Pahalgam attack. He mocked India in the name of the killings that happened in India… If Modi had wanted, would India play cricket with Pakistan,” Saran said in a post.