ASIA CUP, 2025
India and Pakistan players were in a heated exchanged during their Super 4s game. © Getty
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate praised India for “fighting fire with their bats” in the high-pressure clash against Pakistan, saying he was proud of how the players held their composure when it would have been “easy to lose minds”, especially after Sahibzada Farhan’s gun-style celebration on reaching his fifty.
Asked about Haris Rauf’s gesture to the crowd, which went viral after being captured on a spectator’s phone, ten Doeschate said: “Let me first say, the amount of pressure that’s been heaped on the players because of the situation, it’s very difficult to control their behaviour.
“I did see some of the things Haris [Rauf] did and that’s not our concern. Like I said earlier, we’re really proud of how the guys carried themselves.
“They fought fire with their bats on the field. I’m sure other teams have issues with some of the things we’ve done but from our side, we’re delighted with how our guys have carried themselves in this tournament.”
Farhan’s unusual celebration on reaching a half-century, when he held his bat the other way round and aimed it at the skies like a gun, also drew attention given the charged atmosphere and the climes in which these India-Pakistan matches are being played. But Farhan’s innings tapered off soon after his fifty, and Pakistan managed only 79 in their last 10 overs, slipping from 91/1 at the halfway stage.
Responding to that phase of play, ten Doeschate said: “Look, they had a very good start. I don’t think they got carried away with it. I think we managed to pull it back really well after 10 overs.
“Again, I will say given the situation you can see why guys are behaving and what they’re trying to portray but we were very focused on how we wanted to behave. I think we stuck to cricket really well.
“It would have been easy to lose our minds at that point given the celebration as well and some of the words during the game from the Pakistan bowling unit. I thought the guys stuck really well to the task of getting the job done and winning the game. Like I said, not at our very best so lots of things to work on but still managing to win rather comfortably is very pleasing for us.”
After such a tense fixture, India took the following day off to relax and recharge.
“Look, unwinding, I think this last week has been heightened in terms of the stuff going around, particularly the game against Pakistan,” acknowledged ten Doeschate. “I think we should also take the opportunity just to say how well I thought our guys handled themselves the other night.
“And yesterday was a total day off. So the guys managed to stay around the hotel and spend a little bit of time with themselves and then got ready to go again today. Like I said, the level of professionalism, playing these four games in seven days, it’s going to be a more physical challenge than a mental challenge for these guys.”
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