Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and his teammates walk off the field after India won the T20 World Cup cricket match in Mumbai, India (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar hailed Team India’s 29-run win over the United States in the opening match of the ICC Men’s Under-20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. While praising Suryakumar Yadav’s match-winning innings, Sachin also praised Team USA for their spirited and energetic performance against the defending champions.India’s campaign got off to a positive start with a hard-fought win as the USA put pressure on the Men in Blue, only to fall short by 29 runs. The match was largely decided by Suryakumar Yadav, whose brilliant 84 off 49 balls rescued India from 77/6 and helped post a competitive total of 161/9 in their 20 overs. He was the only batsman to score a half-century and showed remarkable composure under pressure.
T20 World Cup | Suryakumar Yadav Press Conference – About Harshit Rana, ‘nerves’, strategy
by Sachin Tendulkar
Sharing his thoughts on X, Sachin applauded both India’s target and the USA’s fightback. “A tense start but a calm finish for Team India. Global cricket’s rise will accelerate as new teams embrace this opportunity – @usacricket did yesterday and their energy and enthusiasm was promising! Nervous moments came but @surya_14kumar’s experience and composure under pressure always got India off to a respectable start.” Our bowlers did the rest well for us, India.During India’s innings, Suryakumar Yadav smashed 10 fours and four sixes. Ishan Kishan contributed 20 off 16 balls, hitting one four and two sixes, while Tilak Varma added 25 off 16 deliveries with three fours and a six. Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/29) and Harmeet Singh (2/26) were the main wickets for the USA.Chasing 162, United States fell behind at 132/8. Milind Kumar made 34 off 34 balls, Sanjay Krishnamurthi scored 37 off 31 with two sixes and a four and Shubham Ranjane hit 37 off 22 balls, including three sixes. The Indian bowlers led by Mohammed Siraj (3/29), Axar Patel (2/24) and Arshdeep Singh (2/18) ensured that the visitors could not get close to the target.India thus began their T20 World Cup title defense with a win thanks to Surya’s composure and collective team effort.
