T20 World Cup - 'Suryakumar Yadav Slapped Us Hard': Pakistan Sent Brutal Message After Loss Against India
India registered a comfortable 61-run victory over Pakistan in their highly-anticipated T20 World Cup 2026 group stage encounter in Colombo on Sunday.
India registered a comfortable 61-run victory over Pakistan in their highly-anticipated T20 World Cup 2026 group stage encounter in Colombo on Sunday. Pakistan were completely outplayed as India dominated proceedings - both with bat and ball. Sent in to bat, Ishan Kishan slammed a fiery 40-ball 77 to take India to a formidable total of 175/7. In response, Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals and fell well short of the target. With Pakistan struggling at 78/6 after 12 overs, Suryakumar opted for part-time bowlers Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh. Adding insult to injury, Tilak struck on his very first ball as he took the wicket of Shadab Khan. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali was left fuming by the entire incident and he went on to say that Suryakumar 'slapped' Pakistan with his decision.
“Surya ne jo sabse jor se tamacha mara hai na, jab usne Rinku aur Tilak Varma ko bowling karayi hai (Surya has slapped us hard by bowling Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh). This is the value of Pakistan's cricket today. I'm not even talking about Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, or Varun Chakravarthy. He showed what is the value of the team right now," Basit said on YouTube.
Meanwhile, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes the idea of an automatic "big match" between India and Pakistan is outdated, as the intensity and competitiveness that once defined the rivalry no longer feel the same.Â
Defending champions India's win over Pakistan also confirmed their place in the Super Eights. Ishan Kishan's blistering 77 had set the tone earlier in the evening, and India's bowlers ensured the target of 176 was always out of reach to dismiss Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs.
Speaking to IANS, Ganguly opined that the current Pakistan team isn't comparable to the legendary side that featured players like Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram.
"A big match doesn't really exist anymore; those kinds of matches used to happen in the past. We make the mistake of thinking of Pakistan as the team of Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, and Shahid Tanvir, but that Pakistan no longer exists," Ganguly told IANS.
(With IANS inputs)
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team