India skipper Suryakumar Yadav defended Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana after their off-day with the ball in the last Group A match of the Asia Cup 2025 against Oman in Abu Dhabi.
India made two changes for their game against Oman, with Arshdeep and Harshit coming in place of Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy. Playing their first game of the tournament, both pacers looked a bit wayward with their lines and leaked runs against a resilient Oman batting line-up. While Arshdeep conceded 37 runs in his four-over spell and took one wicket, Harshit returned figures of 1/25 in his three overs.
Post-match, Suryakumar came to the defence of both bowlers, saying: “It’s a little difficult when you’re sitting out and suddenly you come out to play (talking about Arshdeep and Harshit). It’s so humid here.”
You can’t keep Hardik out of the game: Surya
After being promoted to number 4, Hardik Pandya couldn’t make the most of the opportunity as he was run out for 1 by Jiten Ramanandi. While he couldn’t make an impact with the bat, Pandya took one of the four wickets to fall in the second innings and kept things tight in India’s defence. The ace all-rounder also took an important catch of Aamri Kaleem, who top-scored for Oman with 64, on the boundary line.
“Unfortunate how he (Pandya) got out but you can’t keep him away from the game, the way he bowled and the way he got out.”
At the end, when Surya was asked about Sunday’s Super 4 clash with Pakistan in Dubai, the 35-year-old said: “All set for the Super Fours.”
With the win over Oman, India remain unbeaten in the tournament, making it three wins on the bounce. The Men in Blue will be looking for a double over Pakistan in their first Super 4 clash on September 21.
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