After India’s big win over Pakistan, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said maybe it’s time to stop calling India-Pakistan matches a close rivalry. Out of 15 T20Is between the two teams, India, the current world champions, has won 12.
In a press conference, a Pakistani journalist asked if the gap in quality between the two teams has become too big. Suryakumar jokingly replied, Sir, I think we should stop calling India versus Pakistan matches a rivalry.
incredible that Pakistan still leads India 88-78 across all formats. an entire generation has grown up watching their team get demolished almost everytime they play India. speaks volumes of just incredibly superior previous generations of PCT were 🧩pic.twitter.com/lwkMM6Lw4H
— Cani (@caniyaar) September 21, 2025
When the journalist clarified he was talking about the standard of play not the rivalry itself, Suryakumar laughed and said, Sir, rivalry and standard are the same. What makes a rivalry? If two teams have played 15 games and the score is close like 8-7, that’s a rivalry. But here it’s 12-3. There’s no contest. He then left the press conference smiling.
Suryakumar thought India just outplayed Pakistan, especially the opening partnership of Abhishek and Shubman Gill who scored 105 runs in 9.5 overs.
We played better than them, both in batting and bowling, Suryakumar said. He also mentioned the number of dropped catches at the venue, I mean it’s just part of the game.
Suryakumar also praised Sharma, He knows what’s needed from him and anticipates the bowlers’ plans which is a big advantage. He improves with each match.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha admitted his team was short by 15-20 runs. We haven’t played a perfect game yet in this tournament, Agha said. We started well with 91 runs in 10 overs but lost our way but still thought 171 was a good total.
Agha said their bowlers struggled to contain the Indian openers. We need to play a perfect game and perform well in all three areas: batting, bowling and fielding, Agha said. We’re looking forward to the next match against Sri Lanka.
In other tournament news, Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets in their Super Four match in Dubai. The top two teams from the Super Four will play in the final in Dubai on September 28.
