Following India’s victory over Pakistan in their Asia Cup clash, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav reflected on his performance, expressing relief at scoring runs against their arch-rivals. He acknowledged the pressure of the match but emphasised that it adds excitement to the game, and it felt good to stay until the end.
Before this match, Suryakumar had scored only 64 runs in five innings against Pakistan, averaging 12.80 with a top score of 18. In this high-pressure encounter, he played a crucial role, scoring an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls during India’s chase of 128 runs.
Talking about the pressure of scoring runs, Suryakumar admitted that pressure is a part of the game but adds to its enjoyment. “When you play against any team, you face pressure.
But without pressure, where is the fun? If you do not get butterflies in the stomach, you would not feel as much fun overcoming those. Numbers could be up and down, but what can you do? It is a game; you can try to get better. Had it been bad today, I would have gone back to the drawing board and tried to get better. But it felt good to finish the match, it was important to stay there till the end,” he said during the post-match press conference.
Suryakumar also mentioned that the team management has encouraged the batting group, except for the openers, to be flexible and play at any position. “In T20Is, when you play seven batters, everyone needs to make a small impact, and this has been accepted well. If batters become flexible to bat at any spot, the team becomes even more dangerous,” he added.
How India Beat Pakistan In Asia Cup?
In the match, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first, but India reduced them to 6/2 early on. A 39-run stand between Sahibzada Farhan (40 in 44 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (17 in 15 balls) stabilised the innings slightly, but India restricted Pakistan to 97/8. A late blitz from Shaheen Shah Afridi (33* in 16 balls) took Pakistan to 127/9 in 20 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav (3/18) was the pick of the bowlers for India, with Axar Patel (2/18) and Bumrah (2/28) also taking two wickets each. Hardik Pandya took one wicket.
During the run-chase, India lost two wickets within the powerplay, but Abhishek Sharma’s cameo of 31 (in 13 balls) provided a solid start. Later, a 56-run partnership between Suryakumar (47* in 37 balls) and Tilak Varma (31 in 31 balls) brought stability. Suryakumar then guided India to victory with Shivam Dube (10*), winning with seven wickets and 25 balls to spare.
Kuldeep Yadav was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his spell. India now tops Group A with two wins in two matches.
(With inputs from ANI)
