Pakistan can’t be considered rivals anymore, says India captain Suryakumar

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said matches against Pakistan can no longer be considered a real rivalry after his side extended their recent dominance over their neighbours with a six-wicket victory in their Asia Cup Super Four clash on Sunday.

India’s second win over Pakistan at the Twenty20 tournament padded their head-to-head record in the format to 11-3 against their South Asian neighbours, with one match tied.

Played against the backdrop of lingering tensions between the two nations in the wake of their military conflict in May, there were no handshakes between the players once again.

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“According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches and if it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry,” Suryakumar told reporters. “But 13-0, 10-1.

“I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore.”

Defending champions India dropped four catches during the match and Suryakumar said they would address the issue ahead of their next Super Four fixture against Bangladesh on Wednesday in Dubai.

“The fielding coach has sent an email to the boys, who had butter fingers, to appear before him at his office,” the middle-order batter added.

“But this happens, it is a part of the game. I am okay with it because it happened in the first game itself, and we have more crucial games to go.”