New Delhi, February 8: India kicked off its ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign with a 29-run victory against the USA at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. However, the win was not straightforward, as the team faced challenges during the match. Captain Suryakumar Yadav played a remarkable unbeaten innings of 84 runs, while Mohammed Siraj, who joined the team late, delivered an impressive bowling performance, taking 3 wickets for 29 runs.
Before the match, India was under pressure due to the absence of all-rounder Harshit Rana, who was sidelined by injury, and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who missed out due to illness. Batting first, India struggled on a pitch that offered movement and grip, finding themselves at 77 runs for 6 wickets. USA’s Shadley Van Shalkwyk bowled effectively, putting India in a precarious position.
However, Suryakumar Yadav stepped up to take charge. In his first T20 World Cup match as captain, he led from the front, playing shots all around the ground. He scored 84 runs off 49 balls, hitting 10 fours and 4 sixes, stabilizing the innings alongside Axar Patel. Together, they guided India to a total of 161/9, which was deemed respectable.
In the bowling department, Mohammed Siraj made an early impact by claiming two wickets, supported well by Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel, who also took two wickets each. The USA team stumbled, losing 3 wickets for just 13 runs. Nevertheless, Sanjay Krishnamurthy and Milind Kumar formed a partnership of 58 runs, adding some excitement to the match.
Krishnamurthy (37 runs) and Shubham Ranjan (37 runs) showed resilience, but India’s experienced bowlers regained control towards the end. In the final overs, Siraj and Arshdeep took crucial wickets, restricting the USA to 132/9. Thus, India secured a hard-fought victory.
Here are some key records from the India vs. USA match:
Abhishek Sharma failed to score, marking his fourth career duck. This was his third golden duck in the last five matches.
Suryakumar Yadav became the fourth Indian player to score over 1000 runs as a T20I captain, joining Rohit Sharma (1905), Virat Kohli (1570), and MS Dhoni (1112). This was Yadav’s highest score as captain, surpassing his previous best of 68 runs against South Africa in Perth in 2022.
Yadav’s unbeaten 84 runs is the second-highest score by a captain on T20 World Cup debut, following Chris Gayle’s 88 runs for West Indies against Australia at The Oval in 2009.
India set a new world record with its ninth consecutive win in the T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav is now the Indian player with the most ‘Man of the Match’ awards (17) in T20 Internationals, surpassing his previous tie with Virat Kohli, who has 16 awards.
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