Captain Suryakumar Yadav stood up when it was needed the most and scored an unbeaten 84 runs off 49 balls that helped India recover from a precarious position. Suryakumar Yadav was in his zone and elements and showed why he is a class act in T20 cricket. He scored an unbeaten 84 runs off 49 balls and rescued India from 77/6 and 118/7 to help India post a competitive 161/9 in 20 overs.
Then, the bowlers stood up when it mattered as Mohammed Siraj the late entrant picked up 3 wickets while Arshdeep Singh picked up 2 wickets while Axar Patel picked up 2 wickets as well as USA were reduced to 132/8 in 20 overs. Plenty of 30s for USA and they couldn’t carry it on as India won the contest by 29 runs and make a winning start to their campaign.
Suryakumar Yadav’s magical unbeaten 84 rescues India and helps them post 161/9 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, keeper batter Ishan Kishan came out to bat alongside Abhishek Sharma while Saurabh Netravalkar had ball in hand for USA. The duo could only put 8 runs to the scoreboard before Abhishek fell for a golden duck to Ali Khan. Tilak Varma came out to bat next. Tilak and Ishan joined together and forged a partnership to help India do well in the powerplay.
The duo played good cricketing shots and put on 37 for the second wicket. India were 44/1 in 5 overs and went to 45 in the last over of powerplay before Ishan fell for 20 off 16 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Shadley van Schalkwyk who now was about to destroy India in the powerplay. Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next and got off the mark soon.
Just one run was added to the score before Tilak the form batter fell for 25 off 16 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Shadley. Shivam Dube came out to bat next and he fell first ball to a slower bouncer for a golden duck to the same bowler. India were in tatters at 46/4 in 6 overs at the end of the powerplay and in serious trouble. Rinku Singh came out to bat next.
Surya started to form a partnership with Rinku as he struggled out there but hung in there for a while. Surya was starting to get going while losing partners at the other end. Rinku and Surya put on 26 for the 5th wicket before Rinku fell for 6 off 14 balls to Mohsin Khan who was bowling a great spell. Hardik Pandya came to bat next.
Surya and Hardik two senior players were in and trying to take India forward but could not get going as only 5 runs were added to the tally before Hardik fell for 5 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name to Harmeet Singh. Axar Patel came out to bat next with India reeling at 77/6 in the 13th over. Axar Patel the last recognised batter came to join his captain Surya in the middle.
Axar played the role of second fiddle. But Surya was now opening up now and started to take India ahead in the game as after 15 overs, India were just over 90 for 6. Axar played his part when he got the chance, but it was the captain who drove the Indian team forward. The duo played the middle phase and put on 41 runs for the 7th wicket Axar then fell for 14 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name to Harmeet Singh yet again. Arshdeep Singh came out to bat and just hung in from one end as Surya was about to showcase his range from here.
Arshdeep managed to get a boundary away but Surya farmed the strike and played shots all around the ground as he hit some big shots especially against Saurabh Netravalkar. The way Surya handled the situation was something to behold. He hit the good balls for boundaries and some of his shots were just mind blowing. The duo of Surya and Arshdeep took the game deep and put on 22 for the 8th wicket with Arshdeep scoring only 4 runs off 6 balls with one boundary to his name as he fell to Shadley for his 4th wicket.
India were 140/8 in 19 overs when Varun Chakaravarthy came to the crease next. He stayed at the non-striker’s end and let Surya do the hitting. Surya took on Netravalkar as we saw Ali Khan and Shubham Ranjane being injured and going off the field. Netravalkar bowled the last over. Surya hit him for fours and sixes for fun as they got 21 runs off the last over before Varun was run out off the final ball of the innings for 0 off 0 balls.
Suryakumar was unbeaten on 84 off 49 balls with 10 fours and 4 sixes to his name as India finished with 161/9 in 20 overs. A good competitive score but not a match-winning score. USA put in a decent bowling display with Shadley van Schalkwyk was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/25 in 4 overs. Harmeet Singh bowled well for his 2/26 in 4 overs. Mohammad Mohsin finished with 1/16 in 4 overs.
Ali Khan finished with 1/13 in 2 overs. Shubham Ranjane bowled 2 overs for 16 runs while Saurabh Netravalkar finished with expensive figures of 0/65 in 4 overs. This meant the USA needed 162 runs to win off 20 overs to pull off the ultimate upset.
All-Round bowling display led by Mohammed Siraj helps India get over the line by 29 runs
Chasing 162 for the win, Andries Gous and Saiteja Mukkamalla came out to open the batting for USA while Arshdeep Singh had ball in hand for India. India got off to a perfect start as the USA openers could put on just 8 runs for the first wicket with Gous hitting a maximum. But Gous the keeper batter fell for 6 off 5 balls with one six to his name to Mohammed Siraj. Captain Monank Patel came out to bat next.
Monank Patel did not last long either as he fell for a silver duck as three more runs were added to the tally as Arshdeep Singh picked up a wicket. Milind Kumar came out to bat next. The wickets continued to flow as Mukkamalla fell for 2 off 7 balls to Siraj again. USA were 13/3 in 3.2 overs. Sanjay Krishnamurthi came out to bat next inside the powerplay.
The duo had to rebuild things for USA and the powerplay score was 31/3 in 6 overs. India kept things tight all along and never really allowed USA to break free. But the USA batters put in a partnership to give the team some respectability. The duo of Kumar and Sanjay put on 58 runs off 52 balls and took the score to 71 before Milind fell for 34 off 34 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Varun Chakaravarthy. Shubham Ranjane came out to bat next and couldn’t run at all.
The duo of Krishnamurthi and Ranjane took the innings forward and tried to put the pressure on the Indians but it was always going to be tough for him. They put on 27 for the 5th wicket before Sanjay fell for 37 off 31 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Axar Patel. Harmeet Singh came out to bat next and fell first ball for a golden duck as Axar got two wickets in two balls. Mohammad Mohsin came out to bat at 98/6 in 15.3 overs and survived the hat-trick ball.
Ranjane now fought a lone hand while Mohsin tried to hang in there. The duo put on 12 runs for the 7th wicket before Mohsin fell for 8 off 9 balls with one four to his name to Arshdeep Singh yet again. Shadley van Schalkwyk came out to bat next. The score was 110/7 in 17.4 overs as the game was as good as over right now. USA decided to bat out the remaining balls and put on 22 runs for the 8th wicket before Ranjane was the last man to be dismissed for 37 off 22 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Siraj. Shadley was unbeaten on 2 off 5 balls.
USA ended with a score of 132/8 in 20 overs with 6 extras given by the fielding side. The Indian bowlers bowled well and in a disciplined manner with Mohammed Siraj being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/29 in 4 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 2/18 in 4 overs. Axar Patel finished with 2/24 in 4 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 1/24 in 4 overs. Hardik Pandya gave away 34 runs in 4 overs. So, India win by 29 runs and begin their campaign with a win. Captain Suryakumar Yadav was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, we are done with 3 games on Day 1 with wins for Pakistan, West Indies and India. On Day 2, we have another 3 games for you. First-up we are in Chennai for Afghanistan vs New Zealand from Chennai at 11 AM IST. This will be followed by England up against Nepal live from Mumbai at 3 PM IST. This will be followed by Sri Lanka the co-hosts up against Ireland from Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium.
So, another triple header in prospect in T20 World Cup 2026 on Super Sunday and we are looking forward to it.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: India Hit Back With 3 Wickets Inside the Powerplay.