T20 World Cup, IND vs PAK: Suryakumar dedicates win to India,

Suryakumar heaped ‌praise on opener Ishan Kishan whose rapid 77 fashioned their victory

Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on January 15, 2026 |

India captain Suryakumar Yadav dedicated Sunday’s (February 16, 2026) Twenty20 World Cup victory over Pakistan to fans across the country, while his opposite number Salman Agha urged perspective after a chastening defeat in a contest that ‌never matched his blockbuster billing.

The much-hyped showdown between the South Asian neighbours, who engaged in a military conflict that nearly snowballed into a fully-fledged war last year, failed to ignite as India racked up 175-7 and then returned to bundle out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs.

The ‌match itself passed without flashpoints despite the tensions, but there was no shaking of hands among the rival captains at ‌the toss. Both Suryakumar and Salman looked grim when the coin was flipped and averted eye contact.

The mood was completely different when the Indian captain spoke after the match at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

“This is for India. We played the same brand of cricket that we wanted to play,” the batsman said, sporting a wide smile.

Ind vs Pak Match Highlights: Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the victory against Pakistan to the country. Surya said, “I think we did what we did before (winning in the Asia Cup 2025 final) when we played against them.”

Ind vs Pak Match Highlights: In the 27th match of the T20 World Cup 2026,

India registered a spectacular victory by 61 runs. With this win, Team India has secured a place in the Super-8. In this match, India scored 175 runs batting first and then bundled out Pakistan for just 114 runs. After thrashing Pakistan, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav praised Player of the Match Ishan Kishan, who played a brilliant innings of 77 runs off 40 balls, including 3 sixes and 10 fours. Along with this, Surya also reminded the Pakistani team of the Asia Cup 2025 final, when India had defeated them in a similar fashion.

‘This Win is for India’

After the match, Surya, with his trademark smile, said, “I think this win is for India. We played the cricket we wanted to play. I told you this at the time of the toss. I thought batting first on this wicket was the best option, and the way Ishan batted, and the way he has been batting in the last few games and in the domestic circuit, he carried the team forward in the same manner.”

‘Ishan Did Wonders’

When asked if the plan was to attack early on a slow pitch, Surya replied, “Not really. We wanted to play the way we were playing. I thought Ishan thought differently. After being 0 for 1, someone had to take responsibility in the power play, and the way he took that responsibility, I thought it was wonderful. I think we were far ahead in the powerplay. There was a slight gap between overs 7 and 15, but then this is the beauty of T20 cricket, and the way Tilak, Shivam, and Rinku batted, I thought it was commendable.”

‘A score of 155 would have been very tight’

Regarding whether 175 runs was above par, Surya said, “It’s difficult to say when you are batting first because you never know, there might be some dew, or the wicket could play a bit better under lights. But, as soon as we reached 175, we felt it was 15-20 runs better than par. I think a score of 155 would have made the game very tight.”

Reminded of the Asia Cup

Surya further added, “I think we did what we did before (the Asia Cup 2025 final win), when we played against them. Hardik took the new ball, charged from the first ball, then Bumrah came. He showed the world why he is the best bowler in the world. Then Varun, Kuldeep, Axar, in fact, even Tilak came and contributed. I thought it was great to see everyone contributing.”

India captain Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the latest win against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup to his country, also praising batter Ishan Kishan for his blistering 77 runs which got the Men in Blue out of quite a fix when they batted first against the Men in Green. Kishan’s innings ultimately was the difference as he guided India to 175/7, a target that proved too steep for Pakistan as they were skipped out for 114, losing by 61 runs.

“I think this (win) is for India. We played the same brand of cricket as we wanted to play. Batting first was better option on this wicket. Ishan thought something out of the box. After 0/1, someone had to take responsibility and the way he took it was amazing. We felt it (the total) was 15 above par. 155 could’ve been a tight game. It was great to see everyone contributing with the ball. We’ll go back, have a good time together as a team and then think about the other games when we take the flight to Ahmedabad,” said Suryakumar.

With this dominant win, India qualified for the Super 8s with ease with one game remaining, against Netherlands on February 18 at Ahmedabad.

Our spinners had an off day. Execution was missing in some parts. We believe in our spinners, they’ve done well in last six months. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay with the bat. In the first innings it was tacky, the ball was gripping like that. The execution was lost with the ball. Pitch played better in the second innings than it did in the first,” Agha said.

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