Asia Cup: Five most heated moments in tournament's history

Cricket fans are excited to witness the Asia Cup 2023 which will be played from August 31 to September 17 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This year, the competition will be played in One-Day International (ODI) format, and ahead of the World Cup 2023, the continental tournament will help all five Asian teams to prepare themselves for the marquee event to be held in India in October-November. Cricket supporters are expecting quality cricket from this year’s Asia Cup. Mind games banters, and sledging might be witnessed by fans this year as well. In the past, on-field verbal altercations have happened in intense India-Pakistan matches but in the last few years, a rivalry between Pakistan and Afghanistan has also come up due to aggressive cricket and verbal fights among players of both sides. Here are the five most heated moments in Asia Cup history 5. Hasan Ali vs Hashmatullah Shahidi in 2018 In the 2018 Asia Cup, Pakistan clashed with Afghanistan in the first match of the Super Four round in Abu Dhabi. Winning the toss, Afghanistan elected to bat first and amassed 257 runs on the board. Afghanistan got a shaky start as their top-order batters failed to live up to the expectations. Hashamatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan took the matter into their hands and played some decent strokes to help Afghanistan be in control. Shahidi, who was looking decent with the bat in the game, caused frustration among Pakistan bowlers. During the 33rd over of Afghanistan’s innings, Pakistan paceman Hasan Ali bowled to Shahidi, and the Afghan batter played it back to Hasan. After receiving the ball, the Pakistan pacer displayed his aggression, threatening to throw the ball toward Shahidi. At the end of the match, Pakistan won the game comfortably by three wickets but Hasan was fined for breaching Level 1 of the ICC (International Cricket Council) Code of Conduct. 4. Asghar Afghan vs Hasan Ali in 2018 In the 2018 Pakistan versus Afghanistan game in the Asia Cup, Hasan Ali had a faceoff with Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan as well. After the fall of three wickets, Asghar stepped up and took the Pakistan bowling unit to the cleaners with his teammate Shahidi. Asghar, who was also the skipper of Afghanistan, played attacking cricket to stabilize Afghanistan's innings. However, Hasan Ali, who strived to intimidate Shahidi in the 33rd over, received a fierce reaction from Asghar. After four overs of Hasan’s incident with Shahidi, Asghar brushed his shoulder with the Pakistan pacer while stealing a run. Following the match, Asghar paid 15% of his match fees for violating Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. Along with him, the Pakistan speedster also paid a similar amount for breaching the code of conduct. 3. Asif Ali vs Fareed Ahmed in 2022 In the Asia Cup 2022, when Afghanistan and Pakistan confronted each other, cricket supporters witnessed an intriguing contest for one more time. At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Pakistan won the toss and put Afghanistan to bat first. Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s decision worked as Afghanistan could amass only 129 runs in their 20 overs. Following the total, Pakistan also lacked confidence as they also struggled to pile up runs at a brisk pace. In the last two overs of the game, Pakistan found themselves in trouble as all their main batters went back to the pavilion, and only Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain were present at the crease. Asif Ali, the last Pakistan batter got dismissed in the game, at the hands of Fareed Ahmed. Following Asif Ali’s dismissal, spectators viewed an ugly incident as the Pakistan batter and Fareed got involved in a heated exchange and the former was about to hit the latter with his bat. However, umpires and other Afghan players intervened to calm both players down to bring the situation under control. At the end of the game, Pakistan pocketed the game comfortably, riding on Naseem Shah’s twin sixes against Fazalhaq Farooqi. The fight between both players impacted the spectators of both teams negatively at the stadium and they also got involved in a violent fight. After the match, supporters of both teams were seen throwing chairs and other items at one another. 2. Shoaib Akhtar vs Harbhajan Singh in 2010 Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was known for his formidable pace during the 1990s and 2000s. With his blazing speed, he used to instill fear in the hearts of batters. However, one more thing he was known for was getting involved with opponents in heated arguments. In 2010, India and Pakistan faced each other in the Asia Cup in Dambulla. For the latter, it was a must-win game to survive in the tournament and qualify for the final. Batting first after winning the toss, Pakistan racked up a decent total of 267 runs in their 50 overs. India followed the target confidently with the help of Gautam Gambhir and captain MS Dhoni’s half-centuries. In the penultimate over of the match, Harbhajan Singh was facing Shoaib Akhtar from the other end. After bouncers from Akhtar in the last two deliveries of the over, Harbhajan and the Pakistan legend exchanged words with each other. The verbal spat between both players continued till the end of the game as Harbhajan celebrated wildly after guiding India to a three-wicket victory. 1. Gautam Gambhir vs Kamran Akmal in 2010 In the 2010 India-Pakistan game, another fight happened before the Harbhajan-Akhtar altercation. Earlier, in the game, a heated incident happened between India opener Gautam Gambhir and Pakistan's wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. Saeed Ajmal, who was bowling the 34th over, appealed for caught-behind to the umpire Billy Bowden. Bowden didn’t entertain Ajmal’s appeal and Gambhir survived at the crease. However, Gambhir looked completely annoyed with Akmal due to the latter’s loud appeal. Following the incident, drinks break happened, and both Akmal and Gambhir were seen arguing with each other. The situation was defused after the intervention of umpires and India skipper MS Dhoni. At the end of the day, the match went in India’s favour by three wickets, and in this scintillating triumph, Gambhir contributed 83 (97) to the team. The southpaw also became the Player of the Match for his superb batting.

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Asia Cup: Five most heated moments in tournament's history

In the history of the tournament, there are a few incidents to recount when some players got involved in verbal spats.

4. Asghar Afghan vs Hasan Ali in 2018

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