New Delhi: India’s domination of Pakistan in cricket suggests it couldn’t be viewed as a rivalry any more, believes skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Reigning world champions India crushed Pakistan by six wickets in Asia Cup’s Super 4s clash on Sunday, for their 12th win in 15 T20Is against their neighbours.
They won the toss and restricted Pakistan to 171/5 before chasing it down with seven balls to spare, opener Abhishek Sharma leading the way with a 39-ball 74-run knock.
India had beaten Pakistan with consummate ease in the group stage of the competition earlier at the same venue of Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
At a press conference following their win, Yadav was asked to comment on the widening gap between the two sides and whether it has only increased in recent times.
“My request is that we should now stop calling India vs Pakistan matches a rivalry,” he said with a smile.
When it was clarified that the question was about “standards, not rivalry”, Yadav stated: “Rivalry and standard are all the same. Now what is a rivalry? If two teams have played 15 matches and it’s 8-7, that’s a rivalry. Here it’s 13-1 (12-3) or something. There is no contest.”
The India skipper was also glad that his team could rise to the occasion and produce a dominant performance.
“The way the boys are stepping up in every game, it’s making my job very easy. The boys showed a lot of character. They were calm after the first 10 overs (of India’s bowling innings). After drinks, I told them the game starts now,” he said.
‘Fire and ice’
Sharma and Shubman Gill (47 off 28 balls) produced a 105-run opening stand to make India’s run chase look like a simple task.
“They complement each other really well (Abhishek and Gill). It’s like a fire and ice combination,” Yadav said, who was dismissed for a duck.
Speaking of his team’s four dropped catches and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s flat performance (0/45), Yadav said he wasn’t too worried.
“He’s not a robot, he will have a bad day someday (talking about Bumrah). (Shivam) Dube bailed us out of the situation. After the first innings, our fielding coach – T Dilip, has emailed all players who had butter fingers today,” he said.