India furthered their winning streak against Pakistan in T 20s by defeating the Super Fours match of the Asia Cup 20 25 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 21. Men in Blue pursued the target with six wickets and seven balls left. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav commended the quality of his team as they won their first in Super Fours stage as they played high quality cricket.
When asked about the gap between the two teams, Suryakumar said India is clearly ahead of Pakistan in terms of skill and consistency. He also added that the traditional rivalry seems to have lost its edge, as Pakistan hasn’t managed a single win against India in the last three years.
“I would like to say one thing on this question. I feel that you should stop asking this question on the rivalry. Standards and rivalry are the same,” he continued. In my opinion, if two teams play 15–20 matches and if [head-to-head] it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry. But 13-0, 10-1 [Pakistan have won only 3 out of 15 games against India] I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry any more. But yeah, I feel we played better cricket than them,” Suryakumar said at the post-match press conference.
Suryakumar Yadav Confirms Bowling First Was the Right Call, Pitch Conditions Unchanged
For those unfamiliar, the Indians chose to bowl first after winning the toss, and despite the Pakistani side’s strong start, they lost momentum in the middle, putting up a 172-run total after 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, the openers, turned the tide entirely in their favor in the reply by extending their century-long stand for the first wicket. Suryakumar therefore believed that his choice to bowl first was ideal.
“According to me, the decision I took [to bowl first at the toss] was because I thought the wicket would remain the same for the entire 40 overs. And it was the same. There wasn’t much of a break afterwards. And the wicket always plays better in lights.”
Suryakumar Yadav
There is a match between India and Bangladesh next. Both teams will be playing after their victory in the Super Fours opening game. The match will also be played in Dubai on Thursday. Pakistan will have another match however, against the Sri Lankan team in Abu Dhabi, Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. The team headed by Salman Ali Agha would not be the same in the competition should they lose this match.
