T20 World Cup 2026, IND vs USA: Suryakumar Yadav’s gritty 84* rescues India and helps them survive a nervy opening clash.
Brief Scores: IND 161/9 (Suryakumar Yadav 84*, Shadley van Schalkwyk 4/25) beat USA 132/8 (Shubham Ranjane 37, Mohammad Siraj 3/29, Arshdeep Singh 2/18) by 29 runs.
Player of the match: Suryakumar Yadav (84* off 49)
India came into the T20 World Cup 2026 with confidence on the back of their 4-1 home series victory against New Zealand. Meanwhile, United States of America (USA) arrived with familiarity in the squad, on a mission to put up impressive performances in the campaign. They met each other in the opening encounter of the campaign at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
USA captain, Monank Patel, won the toss and decided to bowl first on a surface that had a little grass cover on it. The spinners were not expected to get much purchase from the 22-yards with the batters enjoying the pace of the surface for the big shots.
India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, confirmed Jasprit Bumrah’s unavailability for the contest due to a fever. That saw Mohammad Siraj getting his place in the eleven after he came in as the replacement for the injured Harshit Rana. For USA, the eyes were on the two former Mumbai players, Shubham Ranjane and Saurabh Netravalkar.
Read More: Batting numbers across T20s at the 5 Indian venues of T20 WC 2026
Talking point: India’s failure to build partnerships
India enjoyed a clinical batting performance against the Blackcaps. But, they lacked in building partnerships in the entire innings against USA. No batter stood at the other end and supported Suryakumar, who remained the main difference-maker in the game.
Every single batter continued to smash from the very first ball, which resulted in 41 being their highest stand and that too for the seventh wicket. Going deep into the competition, this would be where the defending champions would need to improve.
Suryakumar Yadav’s 84* shoulders India to 161/9 after USA’s disciplined start
India made a nightmarish start as Abhishek Sharma went back to the pavilion for a golden duck. In the blink of an eye, they were restricted to 46/4 inside the powerplay as Shadley van Schalkwyk picked up three wickets in his second over of the evening. The hosts didn’t have any answer against USA’s brilliant planning for each batter.
But Suryakumar Yadav, who returned to form during the recent home series against the Kiwis, continued his onslaught. He looked to be batting on a different surface. The Mumbai-born played a jaw-dropping six that he swept far outside the off-stump towards square leg – a highlight of his innings. The India captain remained unbeaten on 84 runs in just 49 balls at a blistering strike rate of 171.43, thanks to 10 boundaries and four sixes.
The next best scorer among India batters was Tilak Varma with 25, which reflected Suryakumar’s class. Ultimately, the Blue Brigade finished with 161/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
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India’s clinical bowling restrict USA to 132/8, clinch 29-run win
USA didn’t get off to a great start in the chase as Andrie Gous, after a six, punched Siraj into the hands of Tilak. Their captain, who missed the last T20 WC game against India due to an injury, returned for a two-ball duck. Sai Mukkamalla miscued a flick shot and USA found themselves restricted to 31/3 in the powerplay.
The 58-run fourth wicket stand between Milind Kumar and Sanjay Krishnamurthi gave them a slight chance, but the home spinners showed their dominance. Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy returned with a combined bowling figure of 3/48 in eight overs.
USA finished with 132/8 in their 20 overs as the home side began their campaign with a 29-run victory.
Statistical highlights from IND vs USA T20 World Cup 2026 clash
- Abhishek Sharma has been dismissed for a duck four times in his T20I career. Notably, three of those are first-ball ducks & have all come in 2026, with the third one coming today against USA.
- India’s first four wickets added 46 runs. It’s the fifth-lowest sum for India for the first four wickets since July 2024.
- Post T20 World Cup 2024, Rinku Singh has only 34 T20I runs at 17 with a strike rate of 94 against right-arm leg spinners, besides getting dismissed twice.
- Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel notch up India’s highest seventh-wicket partnership (41) in the Men’s T20 World Cup.
- Suryakumar Yadav records the second most runs (84*) in an innings as India captain in T20 World Cup history.
- Suryakumar Yadav & Arshdeep Singh added 22 runs for the eighth wicket. This is the third-highest stand for this wicket for India in T20 World Cup history.
- Suryakumar Yadav & Varun Chakravarthy added 21 runs for the ninth wicket. This is the second-highest stand for this wicket for India in T20 World Cup history.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2026: Why rest of the teams need to be cautious against India’s fiery batting line up
Points table scenario and what’s to come
India grab the top spot of Group A in the points table with a net run-rate of +1.450. They will meet Namibia in their next encounter on February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Meanwhile, USA will lock horns with Pakistan on February 10 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
Top Twitter Reactions from IND vs USA, T20 World Cup 2026, Group A
A scare on a very unusual Wankhede pitch. But also, the opportunity to see an absolutely special innings from Suryakumar Yadav
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 7, 2026
No cakewalk for India. US threw many punches and in fact looked to be in a strong position till SKY. Ut loose and lifted the score beyond 160 which proved too much for the inexperienced opponents. Fine comeback to the side for Sirqj whose early double strike dented USA’s chase
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) February 7, 2026
Suryakumar Yadav carried that innings almost on his own shoulders. Amazing.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) February 7, 2026
When the chips are down, you look to your leader. And Surya Kumar Yadav delivered like a true captain. What an innings. 👏
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 7, 2026
Surya’s fought the bowlers but more than that he’s fought his own instincts, his construct to play a knock as good as any a captain has. Single handedly kept India alive in this contest. The only one who didn’t just play the format – But the conditions and the scoreboard. Take a…
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) February 7, 2026
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