NEW DELHI: Indian bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj struck with the new ball to leave USA at 13 for 3 in the first three overs after the co-hosts were earlier restricted to 161 for 9 in their World Cup 2026 T20 opener in Mumbai on Saturday.Early damage proved decisive. The US never recovered from the collapse and India claimed a 29-run win.
T20 World Cup Groups Explained: Who Can Reach Super 8
Milind Kumar and Sanjay Krishnamurthi tried to level the innings with 58 runs for the fourth wicket. However, the damage caused by Siraj and Arshdeep with the new ball meant that the US middle and lower middle order faced a tough task against Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya.At the halfway point of the chase, USA needed 113 more runs to pull off the upset against the defending champions, with the required rate climbing to 10 and over. The wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and the innings never gained momentum.USA managed to score only 132 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their 20 overs. Milind Kumar (34), Shubham Ranjane (37) and Suraj Krishnamurthi (37) batted well but could not match the big match experience of the Indian bowlers.Pacers Mohammad Siraj (3/29), Arshdeep Singh (2/18) and left-arm spinner Axar Patel (2/24) were the pick of the bowlers.Earlier, India were lifted by skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who counter-attacked from 84 not out from 49 balls, hitting 10 boundaries and four sixes, even as wickets kept falling at the other end.India were in deep trouble at 77 for 6 in the 13th over before Suryakumar guided them to a competitive total. USA pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk led the bowling effort, picking up 4 for 25, including three wickets in one over, to dismiss Ishan Kishan (20), Tilak Varma (25) and Shivam Dube (0).Despite Suryakumar’s efforts, India finished with what was considered a paltry 161 for 9 after a collective failure to bat against a disciplined US attack.Van Schalkwyk finished with figures of 4-0-25-4 as the Indian batting line-up, apart from Suryakumar, struggled throughout the innings. India failed to score off the first four balls, with the USA maintaining tight lines and denying space to the batsmen.Ishan Kishan broke the shackles with a fifth-ball six, but India lost Abhishek Sharma for a first-ball duck in the second over. The top-rated batsman hit Ali Khan straight to Sanjay Krishnamurthi at deep cover, silencing the Wankhede Stadium. Tilak Varma showed intent by stepping out to hit Saurabh Netravalkar straight in the third over and followed it up with three fours against van Schalkwyk. Just when India seemed to have found a rhythm, Ishan hit Ali Khan for another six but then coughed up van Schalkwyk at mid-off on the first ball of the sixth over.Tilak soon followed, mistimed a shot off a short delivery from van Schalkwyk and offered a catch to Monanko Patel. Shivam Dube was dismissed for a duck, beaten by the slow bouncer and caught by Netravalkar at short leg.Rinku Singh scored 6 off 14 balls before finding long-on off Mohammad Mohsin. Hardik Pandya fell for 5 when attempting a big hit against Harmeet Singh and Axar Patel made 14 before being dismissed in search of late runs.With the responsibility resting on him alone, Suryakumar steered the strike carefully and shot with clarity. He was the only Indian batsman to fully read the pitch and accelerate in the final overs, scoring 34 runs from the last two, including 21 off the final over over Netravalkar.That effort proved to be enough as the Indian bowlers finished the job and sealed a comfortable win.
