India vs Pakistan: Cut the noise, Surya’s advice to his teammates

A key element of captain Suryakumar Yadav’s personality is the refreshing candour which he often brings in his press conferences – almost like Rohit Sharma. The one before their second India-Pakistan game in a week on Sunday at the Super Four stage of Asia Cup in Dubai was no different white it still touched upon their gameplan.

Handshake or no handshake, it reflects poorly of Salman Ali Agha’s side that despite having Pakistan in the same group, India faced the most spirited resistance so far from associate member Oman on a sultry night in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Last Sunday, the Indian spinners spun a web around the Pakistan batters to win the game by seven wickets and it would be up to the green shirts to raise the game and make a statement.

 It may not be exactly their new captain’s fault that Pakistan came into this tournament without either Babar Azam or Mohammed Rizwan, the two batters who made the most of dew to hand India one of their rare thrashings in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

While head coach Mike Hesson tried to justify that it was the duo’s modest strike which kept them out of the T20 team, their batting line-up looks over reliant on Fakhar Zaman and the captain for some quality or experience.

The seasoned campaigner that Surya is, he was quick to talk down any thoughts of taking their opponents lightly – what with a 21-run win over Oman showing that this format can often get tricky. ‘’ Oman played a good brand of cricket – yes, there was a bit of dew but that takes nothing way from them. We have to start from scratch and play with the same intensity,’’ he remarked.

 The conditions in September are still hot and humid in the UAE and with the tight schedule awaiting the Super Four teams next week, India tried out their bench strength – with Arshdeep Singh finally getting a game. The left-arm seamer, only Indian bowler to reach 100 T20I wickets so far, looked rusty and ended with an economy rate of 9.25 against the inexperienced rivals, which was only a shade better than Shivam Dube’s 10.33.

 The bowling line-up, with Jasprit Bumrah in the dugout, certainly looked below par as India experimented with as many as eight bowlers. They will look to play to their strengths once again against the arch rivals by bringing back Varun Chakravarthy and Surya stressed that they wanted to keep the good habit (read: winning streak) going against Pakistan in an important clash.

The top two teams from Super Four will make it to the final on 28 October and with a competent Sri Lanka and Bangladesh the other two in the fray, the Men in Blue need to be on their guard.

Did the debate over India refusing to engage in the handshake ritual last Sunday created any stir in the Indian dressing room? Surya, while dodging any suggestion as to whether they would again do the same in a lighthearted manner, said that the trick to stay calm and focused on the job is to cut the noise as usual.

‘’Close your room, switch off your phone and sleep. I think that’s the best. It’s easy to say but sometimes it is difficult because you meet a lot of friends, you go out for dinner and you have a lot of players also around who like to see these things so it’s very difficult. It’s on you as to what you want to listen to, what you want to have in your mind,’’ he said.

  Asked whether the one-sided contests in recent past have taken off the edge from the Indian-Pakistan clashes which prevailed even at the start of the millennium, Surya said: ‘’I can’t talk about the past. What I feel is that if the stadium is full, we have the responsibility to entertain the fans.’’

Catch the match

Asia Cup Super Four

India vs Pakistan

Dubai International Stadium, 8 pm IST