India’s win marked their second triumph over Pakistan in this tournament and their seventh successive white-ball victory against their arch-rivals since the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. (Image credit: Agencies)

NEW DELHI: After India defeated Pakistan by six wickets in their Super Four Asia Cup clash on Sunday, Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav was in a jubilant mood. Sharing a lighter side of life after the big win, Surya posted a video featuring a dog, introducing it as “entertainment.” Starting the clip with “Ye kutta bolta hai” (This dog speaks), he even tried a playful conversation with the dog. The video has since gone viral on social media, offering fans a glimpse of the skipper’s lighter side.India’s win marked their second triumph over Pakistan in this tournament and their seventh successive white-ball victory against their arch-rivals since the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

In the Super Four clash, Pakistan’s 171/5 — highlighted by a 58-ball 58 from Sahibzada Farhan and aided by a few dropped catches from India — looked competitive initially. However, India’s opening pair of Abhishek Sharma (74 off 39 balls, with six fours and five sixes) and vice-captain Shubman Gill (47 off 28 balls, with eight fours) ran riot, both on the field and verbally, taking their team to a comfortable six-wicket win with seven balls to spare.India elected to field first. Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman early, but a 72-run stand between Farhan and Saim Ayub (21 off 17 balls) steadied the innings. Late contributions from Mohammed Nawaz (21) and Faheem Ashraf (20*) lifted Pakistan to 171/5 in 20 overs. Shivam Dube was India’s pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/33, while Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya picked one wicket each.During the run chase, Abhishek and Gill dismantled the Pakistani attack in the first ten overs, leaving Haris Rauf (2/26) as the lone resistance. Tilak Varma (30*) and Hardik (7*) then guided India to victory. Abhishek Sharma’s stellar innings earned him the Player of the Match award.Reflecting on the result, Suryakumar Yadav said the India-Pakistan rivalry “is not a rivalry anymore.” He added, “Rivalry is when 15-20 matches are played by both sides and one side is ahead by 8-7. 3-0, 10-1… this is not a rivalry anymore.”