There is little more pressure than a normal match: Axar on India vs Pakistan games

All-rounder Axar Patel conceded that there is an extra layer of pressure around a cricket match between India and arch-foes Pakistan, but said the players try to remain steady-minded by staying away from outside talks about the intensity of the age-old rivalry.

In the latest episode of the showdown between the two teams, India trounced Pakistan by 61 runs at the Premadasa Stadium here on Sunday (February 15, 2026) night to advance to the Super Eight stage of the ICC T20 World Cup.

“Yes, there is pressure. People around you or your family or friends talk to you about it. So, yes, there is a little more pressure than a normal match,” Axar said in the post-match press conference.

“As professional cricketers, we just focus on controlling our emotions. We don’t think too much about the rivalry or put extra pressure on ourselves because of it,” he added.

“We are seeing them as a team. So, we are not thinking about these rivalries etc. We are just focusing on cricket. So, whenever I am playing, I treat it as one match against an opponent. Ishan Kishan played a sensational 40-ball 77 to lift India a competitive 175 for seven, and Axar lauded the opener for playing a game-changing innings.

“Yeah, obviously the way he batted, I think one of the great knocks, because it was not so easy, the ball was spinning, some were going straight under light, so it was not easy. It’s just that the form he has had in domestic cricket – he has carried it forward to the New Zealand series and then in the last match also he scored 50.

“So, when your confidence is high you don’t think much about yourself or the wicket. Obviously, there is confidence also and a lot of skill also. He has not hit all his shots in one place, he has played shots all over, over the cover, slip – so he used the field well. So I think credit goes to him,” he detailed.

India’s lopsided win did not do any justice to the match’s billing as a battle between Men In Blue’s batters and Pakistan’s spin bowlers.

Axar said the team was not focussing on such topics.

“We are focusing on our strengths and it’s outside talk (India batting vs Pakistan spin). We are not thinking about that. We are just thinking about our plan and our execution when we are batting or bowling, we are just thinking about if we are bowling first or we are bowling second what we have to do? How the wicket was? All those things,” he said.