After what transpired in the Asia Cup 2025 between India and Pakistan, one expected another fiery contest between the two teams when they faced off in the T20 World Cup on Sunday. The build-up was hostile, as the Government of Pakistan initially announced that the team would boycott the game against India on February 15 to show solidarity with Bangladesh following their ouster from the tournament. A U-turn came about eight days later; however, one was expecting to see the behaviour of the two teams on the field.
During the Asia Cup, Pakistani players made objectionable gestures on the field, for which Haris Rauf was also fined by the match referee. Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill were also seen in a war of words with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rauf, and the same was expected on Sunday.
However, to everyone’s surprise, the contest was nothing dramatic. Apart from India registering a one-sided win, the contest also didn’t see any tempers flare. The two teams did not shake hands, and that was the only thing to happen on the expected line, apart from the match result, of course. There was no chatter among the players, and everyone quietly went about their business.
Now, it has come to light that Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian captain, categorically told his players before the start of the Pakistan innings, not to say anything to the opponent and just focus on winning the game on “pure skill.”
The official BCCI handle shared a BTS clip from the match, and in it, Suryakumar can be seen urging his team to put in full energy and not take anything lightly.
“Keep running in between the overs. Kisi se kuch bolna nahi (Don’t say anything to anyone). We have to play good cricket. We will win this game by good skills,” said Suryakumar during the team huddle before the start of Pakistan’s innings.
What happened in the match?
The Group A match between India and Pakistan saw the latter win the toss and opt to bowl. Riding on Ishan Kishan’s 77-run knock of 40 balls, India posted 175/7 in the allotted twenty overs. The Indian captain Suryakumar also chipped in with a valuable 32-run knock.
India then bundled out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs as Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya took two wickets each. Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Varma also scalped one each.
With the win over Pakistan, India bettered the head-to-head record in the T20 World Cup to 8-1 in their favour. The victory also confirmed India’s berth in the Super 8s. On the other hand, Pakistan face a must-win game against Namibia on Wednesday, February 18.
