India began their T20 World Cup campaign with a 29-run victory over the United States of America, overcoming an early collapse thanks to a match-defining unbeaten 84 from captain Suryakumar Yadav.
After being put in to bat, India were reduced to 71/6 before their skipper steadied the innings and powered the side to 161/9 in 20 overs. In reply, the USA were restricted to 132/8 despite a spirited middle-order fightback.
The USA made early inroads after opting to field. Ali Khan removed Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck, while Shadley van Schalkwyk struck thrice in the powerplay, dismissing Ishan Kishan (20), Tilak Varma (25) and Shivam Dube. India slipped to 46/4 at the end of six overs.
Rinku Singh’s brief stay ended for six, and Hardik Pandya also fell cheaply as India slumped to 77/6, staring at a below-par total.
Suryakumar, however, anchored the innings with composure and aggression in equal measure. He stitched together a 41-run partnership with Axar Patel (14), guiding India past the 100-run mark in 15.2 overs.
The Indian captain brought up his half-century in 36 deliveries and accelerated in the death overs. He struck 21 runs in the final over against Saurabh Netravalkar to lift India to a competitive 161/9. Suryakumar remained unbeaten on 84 off 49 balls, hitting 10 fours and four sixes.
For the USA, Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/25) and Harmeet Singh (2/26) were the standout bowlers.
Chasing 162, the USA suffered a dramatic top-order collapse. Mohammed Siraj dismissed Andries Gous early, while Arshdeep Singh removed captain Monank Patel for a duck. Siraj struck again to reduce the USA to 13/3 inside four overs.
Milind Kumar (34) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37) led a recovery with a 58-run partnership. The pair guided the USA to 71/4 in 12 overs after Sanjay was stumped off Varun Chakravarthy.
At 98/4 after 15 overs, the USA remained in contention. However, Axar Patel turned the match decisively in India’s favour by dismissing Sanjay and Harmeet Singh in successive deliveries.
Arshdeep Singh and Siraj returned to close out the innings as the USA finished at 132/8, falling short by 29 runs.
India thus secured a winning start to their T20 World Cup campaign, overcoming early setbacks with captain Suryakumar’s match-winning knock.
Leave a Reply