Suryakumar Yadav rescued India with a brilliant unbeaten 84 off 49 balls as the hosts beat the USA by 29 runs in their T20 World Cup opener at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. India looked in trouble at 77 for 6 before Suryakumar, dropped on 15, took charge — hitting four sixes and 10 fours to lift the total to 161 for 9.
The USA’s chase lost momentum early when they lost three wickets for 13 runs inside the first four overs. Milind Kumar (34), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37) and Shubham Ranjane (37) — three of five India-born players in the USA XI — provided resistance, but the visitors finished on 132 for 8.
“Only I can tell how much pressure I was feeling,” said player of the match Suryakumar. “But I had the belief. I knew if I bat till the end, I can make a difference. It was a little different wicket. But we cannot brush everything under the carpet. We need to bat much better.”
India’s innings began with high expectations after USA captain Monank Patel chose to bowl, yet the top order collapsed. Opener Abhishek Sharma, currently ranked the world’s No.1 T20 batter, was out for a first-ball duck. The real damage came in the final over of the Powerplay when Shadley van Schalkwyk took three wickets in five deliveries, leaving India 46 for 4. Ishan Kishan (20) and Tilak Varma (25) failed to convert starts, and Shivam Dube fell for a golden duck in that same sequence.
Suryakumar was handed a lifeline when Ranjane spilled a return catch with the batter on 15. He made the most of it, reaching his fifty off 36 balls and plundering 21 from the final over, bowled by Saurabh Netravalkar, to steer India to a competitive total.
India were without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the match through illness, and had made a late change after Harshit Rana was ruled out with a thigh injury less than 24 hours before the game. Mohammed Siraj, a late replacement for Rana, repaid the faith with figures of 3 for 29, while Arshdeep Singh also chipped in, reducing the USA to 31 for 3 in the Powerplay.
Krishnamurthi and Milind put on a 58-run stand to steady the chase, but once that partnership ended India regained control. “I thought our bowlers did a good job,” USA captain Monank Patel said. “We dropped catches and that cost us. At one stage, felt we could restrict them for 130.”
Coverage: Watch the Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports from February 7 to March 8.