Asia Cup 2025: 'That Is Their Truth' - Former Indian spinner backs Suryakumar Yadav ahead of the India vs Pakistan clash

India will face Pakistan on Sunday, September 21, in the second match of the 2025 Asia Cup. The match, which is part of the Super 4 stage of the tournament, will be held at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and should be another exciting encounter between the two arch-rivals.

Ahead of the match, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reflected on Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav’s pre-match press conference remarks, where the T20I skipper cheekily dismissed the “rivalry” narrative. Instead of naming Pakistan directly, Suryakumar stated that with huge crowds present, his team’s main focus was “to entertain.” Ashwin believes that Suryakumar was not avoiding the question but rather reflecting the team’s confidence and recent dominance over Pakistan.

"The Indian team haven't played down (the hype). The Indian team have just spoken the truth as it is. There is nothing more to talk about it. That is just the plain truth," Ashwin said in a video on his official YouTube channel. He added, "Suryakumar Yadav has just represented what the Indian team's players were feeling. That is their truth, that is their problem and we have nothing to do with that."

India’s Recent Supremacy Against Pakistan

Since September 2022, India have not lost a T20I against Pakistan, winning all three encounters in that period. The first meeting of the current edition of the Asia Cup familiar Group A went on for Pakistan, who were limited to 127/9. Kuldeep Yadav was the star of the match with a three-wicket tally, while Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah took 2 wickets each, as Pakistan's batting first call, after winning the toss, sharply backfired.

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India’s chase began explosively, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 31 off just 13 balls in the powerplay. Shubman Gill fell cheaply, while Tilak Varma added 31 off 31 balls. Suryakumar Yadav remained unbeaten on 47 off 37 deliveries to guide India home in 15.5 overs, winning by seven wickets. All three Indian wickets fell to Saim Ayub’s part-time spin bowling, highlighting India’s dominance over their arch-rivals.