India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Hardik Pandya were left fuming at the R.Premadasa Stadium on Sunday (February 15) despite the team’s thumping 61-run victory over Pakistan.
In a video doing rounds on social media, both Surya and Pandya can be seen scolding Kuldeep Yadav during the post-match celebrations.
While the Men in Blue were comfortably sailing towards victory with Pakistan nine wickets down in the marquee clash, Kuldeep grassed an easy catch off Hardik’s bowling in the 18th over of the chase to Shaheen Afridi a reprieve.
Kuldeep not only spilled the catch but also inadvertently pushed the ball over the boundary line for a six, leaving Pandya infuriated. After cleaning up Usman Tariq to seal the deal, the all-rounder was seen giving a mouthful to Kuldeep. Suryakumar was also seen visibly unhappy with the wrist-spinner during the post-match handshakes.
Despite the comprehensive victory against Pakistan, a tense post-match moment sparked speculations of friction within the Indian camp.
A day after the game, however, the Indian captain shared a light-hearted video on social media, asking Kuldeep to forget the incident and let go of the anger.
“Gussa chodh do bhai,” Suryakumar captioned the post, which quickly went viral.
Coming to the match, India outplayed Pakistan in all facets of the game to make it 8-1 against the arch-rivals in T20 World Cups.
Riding on Ishan Kishan’s swashbuckling 77 off just 40 balls, the defending champions racked up 175/7 on the board. Suryakumar Yadav (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.
With this win, India sealed their place in the Super 8s. They will face Netherlands in the last group-stage fixture in Ahmedabad on February 18.
