Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who turned 35 on Sunday, had dedicated his team's triumph over Pakistan in the Group A match of the Men's Asia Cup to Indian Armed Forces.
The right-handed batsman, Suryakumar Yadav, scored an unbeaten 47 from 37 deliveries as India achieved the target of 128 with 25 balls and seven wickets still in hand.
After the match, there was no handshake between the two teams, as Suryakumar and Shivam Dube headed directly to the dressing room.
On the post-match presentation, Suryakumar expressed that his team is standing with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. In the early part of this year, 26 innocent lives had been lost in the heinous attack in Kashmir, following which India initiated Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist camps of Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
I feel it's a great opportunity and giving the time off, we stand with the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack and we show our solidarity and also the most critical thing for me, we wish to dedicate today's victory to all our armed forces who demonstrated lots of courage," Suryakumar stated.
"I hope that they will keep on inspiring all of us and we provide them with more reasons on the ground whenever we have a chance to bring a smile to them," he added.
During the pre-match days, Twitter was filled with responses from Indians, where most of them frowned upon the BCCI for proceeding with the game against Pakistan in light of the mood in the country. On the eve of the game, India deputy coach Ryan ten Doeschate made a point of saying that the players were aware of the mood in their homeland and the passion at stake.
The game started without the customary handshake between Suryakumar and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, with there being no eye contact between the two captains. During the post-match ceremony, Suryakumar was welcomed with a "happy birthday" cheer by former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar. In return, he called the victory over Pakistan a "return gift" for the people in his homeland.
“I feel it's a great feeling, and it's a perfect return gift to India. When you're coming here, playing a game like this, you definitely want to win it, and when you win it, you always have something ready,” said Suryakumar.
