India captain Suryakumar Yadav dedicated his team’s win over Pakistan in the Group A encounter of the Men’s Asia Cup to the Indian Armed Forces. The right-handed batter, who turned 35 on Sunday, played an unbeaten knock of 47 runs off 37 balls as India chased the total down of 128 with seven wickets in hand and 25 balls to spare. As soon as the match got done, there were no handshakes between the players of both teams as Suryakumar and Shivam Dube made their way back to the dressing room.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Suryakumar said that his team stands in solidarity with the Pahalgam terror attack victims. Earlier this year, 26 innocent lives were lost in a deadly and ghastly attack in Kashmir. Following this, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“I think it’s a perfect occasion and taking the time out, we stand by with the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack and we express our solidarity and also the most important thing for me, we want to dedicate today’s win to all our armed forces who showed a lot of bravery,” said Suryakumar.
“I hope they continue to inspire us all and we give them more reasons on the ground whenever we get an opportunity to make them smile,” he added.
Prior to the match against Pakistan, there was a lot of noise on social media as fans back in India expressed their displeasure with the BCCI going ahead and playing against Pakistan despite the mood of the nation.
A day before the match, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate also stated that his players are aware of the sentiments of the people back home and know their emotions.
The beginning of the contest between India and Pakistan on Sunday saw no handshakes between Suryakumar and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha. There was no eye contact between the two as well.
‘Return gift to India’
At the post-match presentation, Suryakumar Yadav was welcomed with a “happy birthday” chant from former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar. To this, he said that the win against Pakistan is a “return gift” for the fans back home.
“I feel it’s a great feeling, and it’s a perfect return gift to India. When you’re coming here, playing a game like this, you definitely want to win it, and when you win it, you always have something ready,” said Suryakumar.
Speaking about the match against Pakistan, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakaravarthy combined to take six wickets, restricting Pakistan to 127/9 in the 20 overs.
Abhishek Sharma then gave India a flying start, scoring 31 runs off 13 balls. In the end, Suryakumar and Shivam Dube got the job done for India, remaining unbeaten on 47 and 10, respectively.
