Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday sent out a strong message after beating Pakistan in the Asia Cup group stage clash by seven wickets and dedicated the victory to the Indian armed forces.
Yadav said the Indian side stood by the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 people died when gunmen opened fire on them on April 22, leaving the nation shocked.
The Asia Cup match was played amid boycott calls from several sections in the country.
It was the first time the two warring neighbours faced each other in a cricket clash since the Pahalgam attack and the clash that occurred in May after the Indian Armed Forces targeted terror centres located in Pakistan and PoK.
Speaking after the match, Yadav said: “We stand by the victims of the families of Pahalgam terror attack. We express our solidarity. We want to dedicate today’s win to all our Armed Forces who showed a lot of bravery.”
He said: “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.”
India dominated the proceedings with both bowlers and batsmen shining to beat Pakistan by seven wickets in a high-octane Asia Cup encounter in Dubai, the first time the two teams had encountered each other since the May military showdown.
Pakistan’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired, with India’s spinners restricting the arch-rivals to 127 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
Indian batsmen hardly gave Pakistan a chance to bounce back, with Suryakumar Yadav (47) top-scoring and helping his side reach the winning target of 128 runs for the loss of three wickets. India ended with 131 runs.
Abhishek Sharma provided India a strong start by hammering 31 runs off 13 balls.
He scooped four boundaries and two sixes in his knock.
Saim Ayub provided Pakistan an initial breakthrough by dismissing Shubman Gill (10) and Sharma.
Tilak Varma contributed 31 runs with the willow.
Ayub dismissed Varma, leaving India at 97 for 3.
Suryakumar Yadav showed his strong skills with the bat by hitting five boundaries and a six.
Earlier, Pakistan were restricted to 127 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
Sahibzada Farhan scored 40 runs, while the rest of the Pakistani batsmen failed to deliver.
Kuldeep Yadav troubled the Pakistani batsmen with his tight spell and also picked up three wickets.
Bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi played a role reversal and contributed 33 runs in the lower order.
He sent four sixes outside the park, helping Pakistan cross the 100-run mark, which at one point of time looked impossible for the team.
Jasprit Bumrah picked up two wickets, while Hardik Pandya scalped a wicket to damage the Pakistani side.
Axar Patel took two wickets.
India have won both matches in Group A.
