“I would like to say one thing on this question. I feel that you should stop asking this question on the rivalry,” he said at the post-match press conference.
File Photo: IANS
The high-octane India-Pakistan rivalry that once guaranteed itself on the front-page with bold headlines is fading, thanks to the gulf in quality of cricket between the two arch-rivals. On Sunday, India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav played down the idea of India vs Pakistan being a “rivalry” anymore, insisting that the one-sided nature of recent results makes the tag redundant.
“I would like to say one thing on this question. I feel that you should stop asking this question on the rivalry,” he said at the post-match press conference.
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India’s win on Sunday night marked their seventh consecutive triumph over Pakistan in men’s internationals, dating back to their last defeat in the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai. For Suryakumar, such dominance skews the contest away from being considered a true rivalry.
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“Standards and rivalry are the same,” he continued. “According to me, 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….I don’t know what the stats are but this is not a rivalry anymore. But yeah, I feel we played better cricket than them,” he asserted.
While the “rivalry” talk dominated headlines, Suryakumar was also clear on where he felt the game turned. Pakistan had raced to 91 for 1 in ten overs, their best halfway score in T20Is against India, before SKY’s men struck back after the drinks break. “According to me, the turning point was in the first drinks in the first innings,” he said, adding, “People changed their body language after that. You always see the game changes generally after the powerplay.”
“But today, the game changed after ten overs, when the bowlers changed their line and lengths, understood what was needed in that situation, and showed a little more energy. The spinners bowled well. And according to me, Shivam Dube’s spell, you can say that it was a turning point,” he insisted.
After winning their first Super 4 match, the Men-in-Blue will next take on a resurgent Bangladesh on Wednesday. The Bangladeshis are high on confidence after beating Sri Lanka in their Asia Cup Super 4 opener.
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