Dubai: India and Pakistan’s players refrained from shaking hands once more as India secured a decisive victory by six wickets in their second meeting at the Asia Cup held in Dubai.

According to BBC, there were no handshakes when India previously defeated Pakistan last Sunday—marking the rivals’ first encounter since the military conflict between the two nations earlier this year. This lack of the customary gesture led to a complaint from Pakistan to the organizers and raised questions about their continued participation in the competition.

With both teams advancing to the Super Four stage, neither captain acknowledged the other at the toss. The teams remained distant after India successfully chased down a target of 172 with seven balls remaining. During the match, heated exchanges took place as Abhishek and Shubman Gill engaged in verbal confrontations with Pakistan bowlers. Their first-wicket partnership of 105 runs in 59 balls laid the foundation for India’s chase. Gill scored 47 while Abhishek contributed 74 from 39 balls. Tilak Varma then sealed the victory—India’s seventh consecutive win over Pakistan across formats—with an unbeaten 30, finishing the match with a six.

Earlier in the game, Pakistan’s opener Sahibzada Farhan scored 58 from 45 balls, celebrating his half-century with a gun-firing mimic using his bat. Despite reaching 91-1 after ten overs and adding 42 runs in the last three overs, Pakistan failed to capitalize on their position. India, despite dropping five matches, exploited Pakistan’s inability to maintain momentum, highlighted by a 40-ball stretch without a boundary. Shivam Dube proved effective for India with figures of 2-33.

Unlike their previous encounter, neither India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav nor Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha commented on the ongoing tensions between the two nations during the post-match presentation. Looking ahead, Pakistan is set to face Sri Lanka on Tuesday, while India will play against Bangladesh on Wednesday. If both teams finish in the top two of the four-team group, they will meet again in Sunday’s final.