Who: India vs USA
Content: 2026 ICC T20 World Cup
Location: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India
Date and time: Saturday, February 7th, 7pm (13:30 GMT)
The 2026 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup will begin on Saturday in India and Sri Lanka, with holders and favorites India to be the main attraction on the opening day.
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Pakistan will take on Nepal in the first match of the day in Colombo, after which attention will shift to Mumbai. As co-hosts of the 2024 tournament, they will face the United States in a rematch in the group stage.
The final match of the first day will be between West Indies and Scotland. Scotland will be the team representing Scotland in their place following Bangladesh’s controversial expulsion from the tournament.
But all eyes in the cricket world will be on India’s astonishing run of form and whether they can build an early lead or whether the US team can deliver what is arguably the tournament’s biggest upset.
Al Jazeera Sports has detailed coverage of this match.
What did India say before the opening match of the T20 World Cup?
India captain Suryakumar Yadav has admitted he will be “nervous” when India open their T20 World Cup in front of more than 30,000 enthusiastic home supporters in Mumbai, but promised to provide them with “entertainment”.
Suryakumar is well aware that India, the world’s top-ranked T20 team, are overwhelming favorites to retain the title.
But he said the team will try to capture the positive vibes from its more than 1 billion home supporters and not be weighed down by the weight of expectations.
“There’s always more pressure when you’re playing at home. I’m not running away from that fact,” Suryakumar told reporters ahead of India’s final practice on Friday.
“To be honest, I’m sure I’ll be nervous and there will be some pressure, but if I look at the positive side, I’m sure there will be a lot of cheers from those around me.
“There are so many people at the stadium watching the games. I said the same thing to my sons. There are 30,000 to 35,000 people coming and so many people watching at home.
“Let’s give them a good time. Let’s give them entertainment.”
What is India’s record in T20 World Cup cricket?
India are not only the defending champions but also the joint-record winners of the T20 World Cup following their victory over South Africa in the 2024 edition.
India won the first tournament in 2007 by defeating Pakistan in the final, but their second victory in the previous tournament was a long wait.
England and West Indies have also won the tournament twice.
What is the US record in T20 World Cup cricket?
The US cricket team made its first appearance at the ICC World Cup, co-hosting the 2024 tournament with the West Indies.
This led to the biggest upset in cricket history, defeating Pakistan in the group stage with a stunning Super Over victory.
What does India say about the US?
Suryakumar said India is aware that their opponents in the opening match are the emerging powers of cricket and no team will be taken lightly.
“I don’t see any weak teams in this tournament. All 20 teams are fully capable of playing good cricket,” he said.
“In this format, one or two batsmen can make a difference, or it takes one or two bowlers to bowl 24 balls well every day.
“So we’re going to have to play the same way we’ve played against every team we’ve played.”
India’s batsmen have been scoring runs in the shortest format and have not scored below 215 runs in any of their last three matches (two against New Zealand and one against South Africa).
In the fifth and final match of New Zealand’s tour to India, they achieved a record of 271 wins and 5 losses, and in the final warm-up match for the T20 World Cup, they beat South Africa with 240 wins and 5 losses.
Suryakumar’s side have won seven of the last nine completed T20 matches.
indian team news
The captain said there were doubts over the health of fast bowler Harshit Rana, who was injured in Wednesday’s warm-up match.
Rana bowled just one over and left the field on his knees.
“Harshit Rana’s possibility has not been ruled out yet. The physiotherapist is evaluating him but his condition does not seem to be good,” Suryakumar said, raising concerns that the paceman’s World Cup could be over before it begins.
“If he’s gone, we’re definitely going to miss him.”
American team news
The U.S. team will lose one of its biggest players with Aaron Jones suspended on multiple corruption charges.
The 31-year-old Barbados-born player will miss all matches in the tournament following reports of five alleged violations.
Indian representative
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper)
american national team
Monank Patel (captain), Jesse Singh, Andries Goose (wicketkeeper), Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamala, Sanjay Krishnamurti, Harmeet Singh, Noshush Kenjige, Shadri van Schalkwik, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, Shubhamranjane.
