Suryakumar Yadav's Captain's Knock Rescues India From Early Collapse

The opening day of the T20 World Cup 2026 nearly witnessed one of the tournament's biggest upsets as USA took the tournament favorites India head-on in the early stages of their Group A encounter at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. In what turned out to be a rollercoaster contest, India eventually emerged victorious by 29 runs, but not before being pushed to their limits by the spirited American side.

USA's Early Domination Stuns India

The American bowlers defied recent conventions of India being consistent batting bullies in the PowerPlay phase, delivering a stunning early blow to the home team. Placing a deep extra cover fielder for Abhishek Sharma earned them his wicket for a duck, setting the tone for what would become a challenging batting innings for India.

Ishan Kishan, who had repeatedly tonked balls over extra cover against New Zealand in previous matches, found the same fielder with his hit off the slowest ball in the sixth over. Tilak Varma mistimed a pull, and Shivam Dube was undone by change of pace, leaving India struggling at 46/4 after the PowerPlay overs.

Suryakumar Yadav's Masterclass

India's middle-order collapse continued as Rinku Singh struggled to find coherence with timing and was dismissed in the 12th over. Even Hardik Pandya's timing deserted him on this challenging surface, leaving India reeling at 77/6 in the 13th over.

It was at this point that captain Suryakumar Yadav, with Axar Patel providing crucial support at the other end, decided to chance his arms. Two Saurabh Netravalkar overs at the death - worth 21 and 20 runs - helped India find their way out of trouble.

In the 16th over, Axar punished width with a four behind point and followed it up by guiding a slower one to the third man fence. Suryakumar then jumped in and finished the over with a four and a six over deep mid-wicket.

The highlight came in the 19th over when Suryakumar started the onslaught by hitting a four over extra cover off a slower one before slog-sweeping fast bowler Shadley van Schalkwyk for a six. Netravalkar tried cutters and slower ones but only watched them fly the distance as Suryakumar smashed two fours and two sixes - shuffling across, falling over, and still connecting perfectly.

Bowlers Complete the Comeback

India's total of 161/9 looked competitive but not insurmountable, especially given USA's recent batting performances. However, India's bowlers struck early blows in the PowerPlay to take control of the match.

USA lost Andries Gous in the second over when he slashed one to Tilak Varma at cover point, giving Mohammed Siraj a wicket on his T20I return for the first time since July 2024. Arshdeep Singh removed Monank Patel first ball in the third over, as USA's top-order struggled to grapple with India's fuller lengths early on.

Saiteja Mukkamalla became Siraj's second wicket in the fourth over, leaving USA at 31/3 in 6 overs - mirroring India's earlier struggles.

USA's Middle-Order Fightback Falls Short

Milind Kumar and Sanjay Krishnamurthi arrested the slide with a fighting partnership of 58 off 52 deliveries, dragging their stand until the 12th over and keeping USA in the hunt. However, Varun Chakravarthy found a way through, picking his first T20I World Cup wicket in four matches as he had Milind stumped.

Sanjay and Shubham Ranjane threatened to keep the chase going even as they needed 64 off the last five overs, but a double-wicket over from Axar Patel left the chasing side well behind. Axar took out Sanjay and Harmeet Singh off successive deliveries, and Hardik Pandya followed that up with a four-run over to put India on the cusp of victory.

Comfortable Finish for India

Arshdeep Singh returned to dismiss Mohammad Mohsin, leaving USA seven down with the equation reading 51 off 12 balls - an impossible task that eventually resulted in India securing the two points with a 29-run victory.

Match Summary

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

The victory gives India a positive start to their T20 World Cup campaign, but the early batting struggles will give the team management food for thought as they prepare for tougher challenges ahead in the tournament.