India vs Pakistan: India's vice-captain Axar Patel poured cold water on the intense rivalry narrative between India and Pakistan after Men in Blue's comprehensive 61-run win in Colombo in their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday.

Following India's 61-run triumph over Pakistan in Colombo has reignited debates about the relevance of the 'arch-rivals' tag, with cricket increasingly becoming one-sided.

Axar highlighted that the Indian team views Pakistan as just another opponent, focusing solely on their game plan and execution.

"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.

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"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," said the vice-captain.

Ishan Kishan's tumultuous 77 off 40 balls pushed India to a competitive 175/7, and Axar Patel lauded the opener's game-changing knock.

"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 the light, so it was not easy. It's just that the form he has had in domestic cricket, and he has carried it forward to the New Zealand series and then in the last match, he also scored 50," he added.

"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, so he used the field well. So I think credit goes to him," he detailed.

Axar said the team was not focusing on the billing battle between Men In Blue's batters and Pakistan's spin bowlers.

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"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 whether we are bowling first or second, and what we have to do. How was the wicket? All those things," Axar said.