Captain Suryakumar's unbeaten 84 leads Indian recovery against USA
India 161-9 (20 overs): Suryakumar 84*; Van Schalkwyk 4-25
USA 132-8 (20 overs): Ranjane 37, Krishnamurthi 37; Siraj 3-29
Suryakumar Yadav played a pivotal role in rescuing India from a significant challenge, guiding the T20 World Cup co-hosts to a 29-run victory over the United States in Mumbai.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the defending champions and tournament favourites found themselves in trouble at 77-6, facing the prospect of one of the biggest upsets in cricket history and in sports generally.
However, a crucial dropped catch on Suryakumar when he was on 15 runs proved decisive. The catch was missed by bowler Shubham Ranjane, one of five India-born players in the USA's XI, who faltered low in his follow-through.
India’s captain capitalised on this opportunity with a masterful unbeaten 84 from 49 balls. He paced his innings carefully, starting cautiously before unleashing a series of elegant scoops and flicks to propel India to a total of 161-9.
This innings denied the USA any momentum. Indian seamers Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj then took three wickets within the first four overs of the USA’s chase, reducing the visitors to 13-3.
As the required run rate increased, the home crowd grew confident, while the USA fought hard but ultimately managed only 132-8 in their 20 overs, never seriously threatening to chase down the target.
This result means that after an entertaining opening day, which saw the Netherlands narrowly miss upsetting Pakistan and Scotland challenge the West Indies, India set the early pace at the top of Group A as anticipated in this World Cup.
England will begin their tournament on Sunday with a match against Nepal at 09:30 GMT, while Ireland face Sri Lanka in Colombo at 13:30.
SKY soars to save India
India’s margin of victory was comfortable in the end, but the possibility of an upset, which would have surpassed the USA’s previous super over win over Pakistan at the last T20 World Cup, was very real at one stage.
The home crowd was subdued when, in the 13th over, Suryakumar and Axar Patel were at the crease with only three tailenders remaining.
The USA, who have not played a T20 match since April due to governance issues and are ranked 18th in the world, bowled with great skill.
India opener Abhishek Sharma, widely tipped as a potential player of the tournament, was dismissed early after slashing his first ball to deep cover. South Africa-born seamer Shadley van Schalkwyk then took three wickets in the sixth over, including Tilak Verma and Shivam Dube in consecutive deliveries, leaving India at 46-4.
Suryakumar, known by his nickname SKY, defended Van Schalkwyk’s hat-trick ball and scored only five runs from his first 10 deliveries and 20 from his first 21.
While his teammates struggled to time the ball, Suryakumar took time to settle, putting on a 41-run partnership with Axar Patel.
Benefiting from the reprieve offered by Ranjane’s dropped catch, Suryakumar began to play his trademark sweeps off seamers for six and tumbling scoops, accelerating India’s innings. The USA were further hampered by the injury of Ali Khan, who bowled only two of his overs.
India’s captain scored 20 runs from the final over, finishing with 10 more runs than the combined total of his teammates.
It was a spectacular and crucial innings that ensured India’s recovery.
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