India bounced back from 77-6 with captain Suryakumar Yadav scoring 29 runs and an unbeaten 84 in the World Cup to beat the US.
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Published February 7, 2026
India captain Suryakumar Yadav led by example as tournament co-hosts India began their Twenty20 World Cup title defense with a 29-run victory over the United States in the Group A match.
India recovered from a disastrous record of 77 wins and 6 losses, with Suryakumar scoring a brilliant 84 runs with no outs off 49 balls, and finished with a decent record of 161 wins and 9 losses.
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The United States responded with a score of 132-8, putting up a decent fight but not being able to corner their target.
Earlier, the mostly Indian fans gathered at the Wankhede Stadium probably expected a 6 o’clock and a 4 o’clock rain after US captain Monank Patel was named in the squad.
Instead, there was a long queue of India’s top batsmen returning to the pavilion after a brutal defeat for the world’s top-ranked T20 team.
Opener Abhishek Sharma, currently the world’s No. 1 T20 batsman, fell for a duck on the first pitch, perhaps sensing just a hint of what the home team was expecting.
The real nightmare unfolded in the final powerplay when Shadley van Schalkwyk took three wickets in five deliveries to put India ahead 46-4.
Ishan Kishan (20) and Tilak Varma (25) could not decide on a start, while Shivam Dube departed with a golden duck to his name in an eventful over with Van Schalkwik.
It could have been much worse, but bowler Shubham Ranjan was unable to defend a return catch from Suryakumar when the batter was at base 15.
However, the wicket continued to roll at the other end.
Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel lost their lives trying to save the day.
Suryakumar responded to the crisis with a captaincy knock and raced to a 36-ball fifty, taking 21 runs off Saurabh Netrabalkar in the final over.
India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah missed the match due to illness and was forced to replace Harshit Rana, who was ruled out with a thigh injury just 24 hours before the opener.
Mohammed Siraj (3-29) proved a last-minute replacement for Rana with a two-wicket burst, while Arshdeep Singh also found success in the powerplay as he reduced the USA to 31-3 with six overs.
Sanjay Krishnamurti (37) and Milind Kumar (34) defied India for a while in a 58-run stand, but once the partnership ended, India were firmly in the lead.
In Colombo, the Netherlands almost pulled off a huge upset, but in another Group A match, a refreshing cameo from Faheem Ashraf helped Pakistan secure a nervy three-wicket win with three balls to spare.
West Indies fast bowler Romario Shepherd took four wickets in five balls, including a hat-trick, as the two-time champions defeated Scotland by 35 runs in the Group C match in Kolkata.
