In the afterglow of India’s emphatic six-wicket win in Dubai, their seventh straight victory over Pakistan in completed white-ball fixtures, Suryakumar Yadav highlighted the dominance of his nation in what has always been billed as a hotly-contested rivalry between the neighbors.
“I feel we should stop asking this question on [India-Pakistan] rivalry, whether a team plays good cricket or not,” Suryakumar said. “According to me, if two teams are playing 15-20 matches and if it is 7-all or someone is ahead 8-7, then that is called playing good cricket and that is called rivalry. 13-0, 10-1, I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore.”
Analyzing the Super Four fixture, Suryakumar was clear about where India moved into the ascendancy. “I feel we played better cricket than them between 7 to 15 [overs] and also from a bowling point of view,” he said.
“According to me, since we last played on 14th [September], the wicket has become better. Today it was a little better for batting and it was a little hard as well. I think the team that plays well in 7-15 will always have an upper hand.”
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India notch up yet another victory vs Pakistan at #DPWorldAsiaCup2025 🇮🇳
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It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for India though. They dropped four catches, all in the same region. The last time they put down as many in the shortest format was also against Pakistan, at the MCG during the 2022 T20 World Cup. Suryakumar, however, felt that putting the blame on the Ring of Fire floodlights in Dubai doesn’t sit right with him because India have played and practiced at the venue often enough.
“I think the fielding coach has already sent an email to the boys who had a little butter on their hands to come to the office tomorrow or the day after,” Suryakumar joked. “But it’s completely part of the game and I am okay with it. It’s good that it happened in the first game because we have to play more crucial games in the future. But it’s okay, it’s part of the game. Happens.
“We got a few sessions here. We did a lot of fielding practice. It can’t be an excuse. If the catches have gone, it has gone. We go back to the drawing board. We do a good session again and then we come back and play the game.”
