NEW DELHI: India's ninth Asia Cup title ultimately took a backseat as expected on-field sportsmanship gave way to tension and theatrics in the final against Pakistan, where rival players taunted each other during and after the match.

The tournament had been simmering with friction from the outset, and that animosity boiled over in the summit clash, which India secured with a five-wicket win on a long Sunday night.

What began with India's refusal to shake hands - intended to show solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and the Indian armed forces - escalated into full-blown on-field mockery.

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Pakistan's Haris Rauf with a perfect yorker in the 18th over and cheekily mimicked the Pakistan pacer's dipping-flight celebration from their Super 4 encounter.

Bumrah's dramatic "crashing-plane" gesture quickly went viral on social media, capturing the intensity and theatrics of the high-stakes final.

Rauf's actions were seen as a taunt aimed at India's military operation, 'Operation Sindoor,' launched after 26 tourists were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists earlier this year. Bumrah's animated celebration was India’s sharp rebuttal to that mockery.

India went on to claim a tense, hard-fought victory, but the drama didn't end there. When Pakistan's Interior Minister and Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi stepped onto the dais to present the winner's trophy, the Indian team made a bold stand and refused to accept it from him.

The presentation ceremony got over an hour late without the champions laying their hands on the trophy as Naqvi had walked away with it.

The Indian players then turned to social media to celebrate the triumph, making it a point to highlight the missing trophy through emojis.

Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana mocked Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed's signature head-tilt celebration after dismissing Sanju Samson, while Varun Chakravarthy shared symbolic images of a lone tea cup, highlighting the missing trophy and medals that are yet to reach the victorious side.

The Indian players, including Hardik Pandya, even posted pictures of themselves with trophy emojis in place of the real cup.

The tension between the two sides had been palpable throughout the tournament.

India's 'No Handshake Policy' didn't sit well with the rival camp, which even blamed Zimbabwean match referee Andy Pycroft for the fiasco.

Rauf further escalated the hostilities during the Super 4 match with verbal taunts and an obscene gesture mimicking the downing of a plane, in retaliation to Indian supporters chanting 'Kohli, Kohli', a nod to the match-winning sixes Virat Kohli had struck off him during the 2022 T20 World Cup at Melbourne.

Rauf was at it again during the final, repeating the gesture that seems to have become his trademark celebration of late.

Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, however, expectedly found fault primarily with India's approach, calling it "disrespectful" towards the game and a poor example for young fans who look up to players as role models.

"What India have done this tournament is very disappointing. They are not disrespecting us by not shaking hands, they are disrespecting cricket. Good teams don't do what they did," he said at the post-match press conference.

The Indians, however, spent the evening celebrating minus the trophy.

(With PTI Inputs)