Defending champions India started their T20 World Cup 2026 journey with a 29-run win against the United States at Wankhede Stadium. Suryakumar Yadav’s strong batting and effective bowling in the final overs led to the victory.
India chose to bowl first, and the USA had a strong start. Ali Khan took a wicket with his second delivery, sending Abhishek Sharma back without scoring. Shadley van Schalkwyk also made an impact, taking the wickets of Ishan Kishan (20), Tilak Varma (25), and Shivam Dube (0) in the last over of the powerplay. India found themselves struggling at 46/4.
Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh steadied the innings with a partnership of 26 runs before Rinku was dismissed for a slow 6 off 14 balls by Mohammad Mohsin. Hardik Pandya was out soon after for just 5 runs, caught off a delivery from Harmeet Singh, leaving India at 77/6 in the 13th over.
Axar Patel joined his captain, and together they added 41 runs, the largest partnership of the innings, taking India past the 100-run mark. Harmeet Singh returned to dismiss Axar (14 off 11) in the 17th over. Suryakumar reached his fifty in 36 balls in the 18th over, leading India to a total of 128/7.
Chasing 162, the USA lost wickets quickly to Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh. Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37 off 31) and Milind Kumar (34 off 34) tried to keep the innings alive but were eventually removed by Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy in the middle overs. Shubham Ranjane added a valiant late effort with three sixes, finishing unbeaten on 37 off 22 balls, but it wasn’t enough.
Mohammed Siraj secured the win in the last over with a yorker that knocked over Ranjane, ending with figures of 3/29. Arshdeep Singh took 2 wickets, while the rest of the bowlers maintained pressure throughout the match.
India will gain confidence from this win despite the shaky batting performance, while the USA can take positive lessons from their disciplined bowling and determined effort in their World Cup debut.