If cricket were a company listed on the stock market, its shares would have nosedived overnight to a historic low after Suryakumar Yadav, on Sunday, curtly proclaimed that India and Pakistan were no longer rivals.
It wasn’t a declaration of peace between the hostile neighbours, but rather an acknowledgement of the lopsided cricketing ‘rivalry’ between India and Pakistan, that has in recent times been driven more by economics than parity of skills.
“If two teams have played 15-20 matches against each other, and it [head-to-head record] is 7-7 or if someone is leading 8-7, that is called a rivalry; 13-0, 10-1, I don’t know the stats, but this is not a rivalry anymore,” the Indian captain said after the Men in Blue thrashed Pakistan by six wickets in the Super-Four stage of the Asia Cup in Dubai.
After beating Pakistan for the second successive time in the ongoing continental showdown, India now boasts of a seven-match winning streak across formats against the ‘erstwhile’ rival.
Suryakumar’s cursory reference to the skewed head-to-head record between the sides isn’t way off the mark, with India leading 12-3 in the T20I format after Sunday’s result.
After a seven-wicket drubbing at the hands of India in the group stage of the competition, Pakistan’s batting gave a much better account of itself to post a total of 171. However, having raced to 55 in the PowerPlay, Pakistan could have had more runs on the board had it not endured a slowdown after the 10-over mark.
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Between the 11th and 16th overs, Pakistan failed to score a single boundary and could only add 30 runs for the loss of three wickets, with India’s spinners and slow medium-pacer Shivam Dube clawing back into the contest.
“The turning point was the first drinks break in the first innings. After that, the players changed their body language and made a comeback. Normally, we see the game change after the PowerPlay, but today it changed after 10 overs, when the bowlers changed their line and length. They showed more energy, and the spinners bowled a better length. Shivam Dube’s spell, that was also a turning point,” Suryakumar said.
“The team that plays good cricket between overs 7 to 15 will always have the upper hand. At the finish also, you will have to be a little smart with your plans. In the PowerPlay, the ball is hard, so you can time the ball and play your shots. Post PowerPlay, it is very important to bat a little smart. We batted very smartly today, and ended up on the winning side,” he added.
The only area Suryakumar wasn’t too pleased about was his side’s fielding, as four catches went begging in the field, but the Indian captain took it in his stride with a hint of humour.
“The fielding coach has already emailed the boys to come to the office tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. But it is part of the game, and I am okay with it because this happened in the first game, and there are more crucial games lined up,” he quipped.
Published on Sep 22, 2025
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