Asia Cup 2025: Shubman, Abhishek engage in war of words with Haris Rauf during IND vs PAK

Published - 21 Sept 2025, 22:53 IST | Updated - 21 Sept 2025, 23:11 IST

India's Abhishek Sharma and Pakistan's Haris Rauf were seen in a heated exchange of words during the fifth over of the Indian innings in the second Super Fours match of the Asia Cup 2025. The Pakistani pacer gave a fierce look to the India opener following a boundary hit on the second ball of the over. Abhishek did not initiate anything, however, Rauf was charged up during the ongoing contest at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Chasing a 172-run target, Shubman Gill also hit Rauf for a boundary on the last ball of the same over, which is when things really took an ugly turn, as the cricket pitch took the shape of a verbal war between the India openers and the Pakistani pacer. However, the umpires were quick to interrupt, and the issue did not intensify further. Notably, Rauf's over went for 12 runs, as India looked on top in their chase.

Earlier in the innings, the southpaw had hit Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan's frontline pacer, for a huge six on the first ball of the run chase, marking a perfect start for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side. There was a small exchange of words after this ball as well, but that did not look as intense as the one involving the right-arm speedster.

The heated moments, though, charged Abhishek Sharma up, as he continued his merry way, making the chase look like a cakewalk. Gill too, showed a great amount of tactical stroke play, finding boundaries even on good deliveries. At the time of writing, the opening partnership is still intact, with less than 70 more runs required to win from the next 11 overs for the Men in Blue.

Speaking of the first innings, India had chosen to bowl first after the skipper Suryakumar Yadav had called it correctly at the toss. The Men in Green posted 171 for the loss of five wickets, as Sahibzada Farhan shone with the bat for his half-century. For the Indians, Shivam Dube was the pick of the bowlers for his couple of wickets.