DUBAI — India men’s cricket captain Suryakumar Yadav says matches against Pakistan no longer qualify as a true rivalry, after India clinched their second win over their archrivals in this year’s Asia Cup Super Four stage with a six-wicket victory on Sunday.
With the win, India extended their T20 head-to-head record against Pakistan to 11-3 (with one tie), underlining their recent dominance. “According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches and if it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry,” Suryakumar told reporters. “But 13-0, 10-1 — I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore.”
Despite dropping four catches during the match, Suryakumar remained unfazed, saying the fielding lapses would be addressed before India’s next clash against Bangladesh on Wednesday. “This happens, it is a part of the game. I am okay with it because it happened in the first game itself, and we have more crucial games to go,” he said, noting that the fielding coach has already summoned players for a review session.
Pakistan, which still leads the overall head-to-head across all formats 88-79, will face Sri Lanka next on Tuesday. The top two teams from the Super Four stage will meet in the Asia Cup final on September 28.