India-Pakistan no longer a legitimate rivalry, says Suryakumar Yadav after Indi handed Pakistan another shellacking.
The idea that a match between India-Pakistan is still a rivalry has been rejected by Suryakumar Yadav. He was answering a query about whether Pakistan improved their performance on Sunday night in comparison to their first match the previous week, in which they lost by seven wickets with twenty-five balls remaining.
“I would like to say one thing on this question. I feel that you should stop asking this question on the rivalry,” he said, before being reminded the question wasn’t about rivalry at all.
“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.”
Suryakumar praises Shivam Dube
Before being questioned about his opinion of the “rivalry,” Suryakumar emphasised what he believed to be the pivotal moment in the match: when Pakistan reached 91 for 1 in ten overs, which was by far their highest halftime total in Twenty20 Internationals versus India.
At this time, the umpires called for a drinks break, and Suryakumar rallied his squad. With the next seven overs yielding just 38, the lowest total for teams who have batted between overs 10 and 17 at this tournament, India was able to put Pakistan on the defensive.
“According to me, the turning point was in the first drinks in the first innings,” Suryakumar said. “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.”
Dube’s improvement
“I think he has been working really hard on his bowling in all the practice sessions,” Suryakumar said of Dube. “And this was the perfect game where he got an opportunity. He always wanted to bowl at least two overs. And today he got to bowl his quota of overs, so he was very happy. And the way he delivered, I think he had very clear plans.
“I mean, I am only batting in the nets when he bowls a lot. He bowls to all the proper batters. Sometimes bowls with the new ball. So his preparations are always on point. And whenever he gets an opportunity like this, like today, I think he will always be ready to deliver for the team.”