Better late than never? Donald Trump has sent the USA cricket team a rousing message of good fortune – unfortunately it arrived a full 24 hours after they had already been beaten by India in the T20 World Cup.
The US president took to Truth Social on Sunday night to share his support for Team USA, posting: “Just heard the Cricket World Cup is in India! Good luck TEAM USA! We have a very strong team. America is rooting for you!” Image: Screengrab (Donald Trump/Truth Social)
The report, published on February 8 at 9:12 pm, came a day after India had already handed the Americans a comprehensive 29-run defeat at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday night. Trump’s post, complete with a photo of Team USA, received nearly 3,000 likes and more than 600 retweets, with many cricket fans pointing out the amusing timing of the president’s friendly speech.
India dominate despite early scare
Saturday match at Wankhede saw defending champions India survive a stunning top-order collapse to secure victory. Captain Suryakumar Yadav played a lone hand with an unbeaten 84 off 49 balls to rescue India from a shaky 77 for six. His innings featured 10 fours and four sixes as he almost single-handedly dragged India to 161 for nine.
South African-born Shadley van Schalkwyk was the star with the ball for the USA, taking four wickets in just 25 runs. India’s famous batting line-up crumbled against disciplined American bowlingwith Abhishek Sharma falling for a first-ball duck and several others failing to contribute significantly.
The US’s battle of temper has failed
Chasing 162, the US was blown away early by Mohammed Siraj, who joined the Indian squad late on Friday as a replacement for the indisposed Jasprit Bumrah. Siraj bowled with Test match precision, taking three wickets for 29 runs, including both openers. The USA fell to 13 to three in the fourth period and never recovered.
Milind Kumar (34), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37) and Shubham Ranjane (37) battled valiantly to reduce the deficit, but India’s spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel strangled the middle overs, conceding just 48 runs while taking three wickets between them.
USA eventually ended up on 132 for eight, down by 29 runs. While Trump’s late encouragement may not have changed the outcome, Team USA can take pride in pushing the defending champions harder than most expected — even if the president’s wishes didn’t arrive until after the last ball had been thrown.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 8, 2026