Suryakumar Yadav was a proud captain after India thrashed Pakistan by 61 runs in their T20 World Cup 2026 Group A clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday (February 15).

Riding on Ishan Kishan’s swashbuckling 77 off just 40 balls, the defending champions racked up 175/7 on the board. Suryakumar (32 off 29), Shivam Dube (27 off 17), Tilak Varma (25 off 24) and Rinku Singh (11* of 4) also made handy contributions with the bat on a tacky wicket.

In reply, Pakistan’s innings folded for a mere 114 in 18 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy picked up two wickets each for India, while Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak returned with scalp apiece.

After the clinical show in front of a jam-packed crowd, Suryakumar emphatically declared at the post-match presentation that the win is for the country.

When asked what pleased him most about India's win, Suryakumar said, “This is for India.”

The skipper was effusive in praise of Kishan, who took the Pakistani attack to the cleaners on a pitch assisting spinners.

“We played the same brand of cricket that we wanted to play. I told you at the toss as well, I think batting first was a better option on this wicket. And the way Ishan batted, and he was batting in the last few games and also in the domestic circuit, he batted the same way and took the team ahead,” Surya added.

“We wanted to play the same way we were playing. Ishan thought something out of the box. There had to be someone taking responsibility in the powerplay. And the way he took that responsibility, I think it was amazing. We were very ahead in the powerplay. There was a little bit of a lump between 7-15, but that's the beauty of T20 cricket. And the way Tilak, Shivam and Rinku batted, I think it was commendable,” he further remarked.

Suryakumar Yadav felt India were 15-20 runs above par after the end of first innings. “As soon as we reached 175, we thought it was 15-20 runs above par. 155 would have been a very tight game. But then 175 was a very good score. Hardik took the new ball, taking charge from ball one. Then Bumrah coming in, what he does the best. He showed the world why he is the best bowler in the world,” said Suryakumar.

“And then Varun, Kuldeep, Axar, as a matter of fact, Tilak as well, coming in, chipping in. I think it was great to see everyone contributing,” he added.

With this win, India sealed their place in the Super 8s. The Men in Blue will face Netherlands in their last group-stage fixture in Ahmedabad on February 18.

“We'll think about that tomorrow (how do you keep this winning run going?). First, we'll go back, have some good time together as a team and then when we take the flight tomorrow, reach Ahmedabad, we'll start thinking about the next games,” Surya concluded.