Sahibzada Farhan scored a second consecutive half-century against India on Sunday when the arch-rivals locked horns for the first time in an Asia Cup Final. However, he celebrated the milestone silently,
avoiding any controversy this time.
The Pakistani opener provided a steady but slow start after his team was asked to bat first. Farhan eventually picked up the tempo and reached his fifty off 35 balls in the 9th over. The right-hand batter was expected to repeat his gun-shot celebration, keeping the intensity of the game in mind. But he chose to keep it low key – just raising his bat in the air with a smile on his face.
Well Played Sahibzada Farhan. 🇵🇰👏
He scored 57 runs in 38 balls against India in the Asia Cup final.#AsiaCup2025 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/667exLZwom
— ICC Asia Cricket (@ICCAsiaCricket) September 28, 2025
Farhan provided Pakistan the much-needed momentum after a rusty start. But just when he looked to accelerate, Varun Chakaravarthy ended his outing the final. The opening batter looked to clear the rope with a pull shot but didn’t get the distance. Farhan hit it flat and straight to Tilak Varma at deep mid-wicket.
Farhan’s ‘Gun Shot’ Led To Chaos
Farhan’s fifty celebration against India in the Super 4 fixture sparked a controversy last week. He pretended to fire a gun after reaching the milestone. It was criticised as distasteful in India, with many feeling that he was referring to the brutal Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April, which was aided by Pakistan.
Sahibzada Farhan made a gun shooting gesture after completing his fifty.
It looked as if he was saying, “We carried out the Pahalgam attack on India, yet India is still playing cricket with us.
If we do it again, they will still play with us.”
He was demeaning the Indian crowd… pic.twitter.com/4iMPfdP7C5
— School Teacher (@Schoolteacher0) September 21, 2025
The gesture was termed ‘provocative’ by the BCCI as the Indian cricket board lodged a complaint with the ICC against Farhan.
Farhan, along with Haris Rauf, then appeared in the ICC hearing. According to PTI, the Pakistani opener pleaded not guilty to any code of conduct violation for his gunfire celebration, claiming that it was a ‘traditional way of celebrating in his ethnic Pakhtun tribe’ in Pakistan.
