Suryakumar, bowlers pull India out from early trenches

The opening day of the T20 World Cup 2026 nearly saw a dramatic start as USA took the tournament favourites India head-on early. They reduced India to 46/3 but were themselves 31/3 in the chase—a snapshot of how the evening unfolded.

USA’s bowlers defied recent conventions of India’s batting dominance in the PowerPlay. Abhishek Sharma fell for a duck, Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube were undone by change of pace, and Tilak Varma mistimed a pull, leaving India 46/4 in 6 overs.

The middle-overs brought no revival. Rinku Singh struggled before holing out in the 12th over. Even Hardik Pandya’s timing deserted him, and India slumped to 77/6 in the 13th over. Suryakumar Yadav then began to chance his arms, with Axar Patel holding firm at the other end.

Two expensive Saurabh Netravalkar overs at the death—conceding 21 and 20 runs—helped India recover. In the 16th, Axar punished width with a four behind point and guided another to third man. Suryakumar finished the over with a four and a six over deep mid-wicket.

Harmeet Singh removed Axar in the next over, but Arshdeep Singh arrived swinging, carting a four down the ground. Suryakumar brought up his half-century with a boundary in the 18th over.

The onslaught continued in the 19th. Suryakumar hit a four over extra cover off a slower ball before slog-sweeping Shadley van Schalkwyk for six. Netravalkar’s cutters and slower ones were dispatched for two fours and two sixes, dragging India to 161/9.

In reply, USA’s PowerPlay was a struggle. Mohammed Siraj, in his first T20I since July 2024, removed Andries Gous in the second over. Arshdeep Singh dismissed Monank Patel first ball in the third. Saiteja Mukkamalla became Siraj’s second wicket in the fourth, leaving USA 31/3 in 6 overs.

Milind Kumar and Sanjay Krishnamurthi added 58 off 52 balls, but Varun broke the stand in the 12th over, having Milind stumped. Sanjay and Shubham Ranjane kept the chase alive, needing 64 off the last five overs.

A double-wicket over from Axar Patel turned the tide. He removed Sanjay and Harmeet Singh off successive deliveries. Hardik Pandya followed with a four-run over, putting India on the cusp. Arshdeep returned to dismiss Mohammad Mohsin, leaving USA seven down and needing 51 off 12 balls. India sealed a 29-run victory.

Brief Scores:
India 161/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 84; Shadley van Schalkwyk 4-25, Harmeet Singh 2-26) beat USA 132/8 in 20 overs (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 37; Mohammed Siraj 3-29, Arshdeep Singh 2-18, Axar Patel 2-24) by 29 runs.