Asia Cup 2025 Final: Bumrah answers Rauf with 'plane crash' gesture

The Asia Cup 2025 final between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium was always going to be more than just a cricket match. After weeks of controversy — from handshake snubs to provocative celebrations — the rivalry between India and Pakistan reached another flashpoint when Jasprit Bumrah returned a gesture once used by Haris Rauf, adding fuel to an already tense narrative.  Check India vs Pakistan final live score, match updates here | Asia Cup 2025

 

A collapse from nowhere

 

Pakistan had no business folding the way they did. At 113 for 1 with 44 balls remaining, they seemed destined for a total well above 180. Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century had set the platform, Fakhar Zaman was motoring along, and India’s spinners looked under pressure — Kuldeep Yadav had already gone for 23 runs in his first two overs.

 

 

Then came the collapse. Nine wickets fell for just 33 runs. Every over between the 13th and 18th saw at least one dismissal, including three in Kuldeep’s final over. The left-arm wrist-spinner finished his spell with a broad smile, having triggered a chain reaction that Pakistan could never recover from.

 

Bumrah vs Rauf: The gesture that lit up the rivalry

 

As if Pakistan’s collapse wasn’t dramatic enough, the fiercest moment of the night arrived when Jasprit Bumrah uprooted Haris Rauf’s off stump with a searing yorker.

 

The Indian pacer, who had already exchanged words with Pakistan’s batters earlier in the innings, chose not just to roar in celebration but to mimic a gesture. Bumrah extended his hand, fingers pressed together, palm facing down, arcing it towards the floor — a striking echo of Rauf’s controversial “plane crash” mime during the Super Four clash, when the fast bowler responded to taunts from Indian fans by referring to cross-border tensions.

 

The response from Bumrah was instant theatre: sharp, cutting, and politically loaded, adding yet another layer to the India–Pakistan rivalry that had already spilled well beyond the boundary lines.

 

Chakravarthy’s quiet brilliance

 

While Bumrah provided the drama, Varun Chakravarthy delivered the substance. The mystery spinner bowled under immense pressure — one over in the powerplay, another when Kuldeep was being targeted, and then two crucial strikes in the middle overs.

 

Chakravarthy first dismissed Sahibzada Farhan for 57, breaking the backbone of Pakistan’s innings, and later removed Fakhar Zaman for 46, the only other batter to cross 15. His composure in high-pressure phases made him India’s most valuable bowler on the night, even as Bumrah and Kuldeep grabbed the headlines.

 

From tense final to one-sided affair

 

Pakistan’s innings ended at 146 all out, with five balls left unused. What was shaping up to be a tense, evenly-matched final turned into a one-sided contest. India’s bowlers, led by Chakravarthy, Kuldeep, and Bumrah, ensured that a promising Pakistan start dissolved into chaos.

 

For neutral fans, the collapse may have been inexplicable. For those familiar with Pakistan’s mercurial nature, it was yet another reminder of why their cricket is often described as unpredictable to the extreme — capable of brilliance, yet vulnerable to implosion.