'Making my job easy': Suryakumar Yadav hails team after win over Pakistan
Yadav praised his team’s all-round effort and character under pressure
DUBAI: India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav hailed his team’s composure and collective effort after their six-wicket triumph over Pakistan in the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 Super Four clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
During the post-match presentation, Yadav lauded his team’s all-round effort and highlighted the collective character shown by the players under pressure.
“The way the boys are stepping up in every game, it’s making my job very easy. The boys showed a lot of character. They were calm after the first 10 overs of our bowling innings. After drinks, I told them the game starts now. That’s fine, he’s not a robot, he will have a bad day someday (on Bumrah),” Suryakumar said.
Reflecting on India’s fielding lapses during the contest, the skipper admitted there was room for improvement but also praised the match-winning contributions from key players.
“Dube bailed us out of the situation. Abhishek and Gill complement each other really well – it’s like a fire and ice combination. After the first innings, our fielding coach T Dilip has already emailed all players who had butter fingers today.”
On the field, left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma set the tone with a blistering 74 off 39 balls, including six fours and five sixes, to guide India in their pursuit of 172.
He and Shubman Gill (47 off 28) stitched a rapid 105-run stand inside 10 overs before Pakistan hit back with quick wickets.
Faheem Ashraf bowled Gill, Haris Rauf dismissed Suryakumar for a duck, and Abrar Ahmed removed Sharma to reduce India to 123-3 in 12.2 overs.
However, Tilak Varma (30* off 19) and Hardik Pandya (7* off 7) held their nerve after Sanju Samson’s departure to steer India home with seven balls to spare.
Earlier, Pakistan posted 171-5 after being sent in to bat. Sahibzada Farhan top-scored with a fluent 58 off 45 balls, striking five fours and three sixes.
He shared a 72-run partnership with Saim Ayub (21), while late cameos from Mohammad Nawaz (21 off 19) and Faheem Ashraf (20* off 8) lifted Pakistan to a competitive total.
Haris Rauf was Pakistan’s most effective bowler, finishing with 2-26 in four overs, while Faheem and Abrar claimed a wicket each.
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