Fakhar Zaman livid, leaves the field in disgust after being given out; Waqar Younis, Ravi Shastri disagree on live TV

India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2025: Fakhar Zaman shook his head as he wasn't pleased with the third umpire's verdict.

When India and Pakistan play, controversy is not far away. It just took 2.3 overs in the Asia Cup Super 4s contest at the Dubai International Stadium for the first big talking point to arrive. It all happened when Fakhar Zaman made his way back to the dugout after being dismissed by Hardik Pandya for 15. The left-handed batter looked in sublime touch as he took down Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik in the first couple of overs. However, Hardik had the last laugh as the seasoned batter walked back.

Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman (C) walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal (AFP)

However, it was not as simple as it seemed. Fakhar Zaman wasn't pleased at all with the third umpire, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, who ruled him out.

Hardik rolled his fingers, and the ball gripped a bit. Fakhar was only able to edge it to Samson. The on-field umpire ruled him out; however, the Pakistani batter hung around, and the decision was deferred to the third umpire to check whether the catch was taken properly.

The ball seemed very close to the ground before going into the gloves. Palliyaguruge saw multiple replays and finally concluded that the catch was fair, as the fingers were safely under the ball. Fakhar couldn't believe the verdict, so he shook his head while walking back.

He stood around looking a little confused before starting to make his way back. The replays also showed Pakistan coach Mike Hesson fuming with the verdict when he welcomed Fakhar back.

Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis said that Fakhar was rightly miffed as Sanju didn't take the catch properly. “I am not sure that the ball carried to Samson. It seemed like the ball bounced before the ball went into Sanju Samson's gloves. That's the main reason why Fakhar was so shocked and stunned and rightly so,” said Waqar on commentary.

Shastri's reaction

On the other hand, former Team India coach Ravi Shastri said that the replays have to be conclusive for the third umpire to overturn the on-field verdict.

“It has to be conclusive for an on-field decision to be turned around. For the third umpire, Samson had his fingers under the ball,” said Shastri.

The wicket of Fakhar came at the right time for India, as Fakhar was threatening to take the game away. Earlier, India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Both India and Pakistan made two changes to their playing XI from the previous game. These two teams met earlier in the group stage, and India came out on top.

[Get live streaming and exclusive coverage of the Asia Cup with HT's OTT Sports 365 pack.]