Mumbai: Defending champions and favourites Team India launched their ICC T20 World Cup campaign with a 29-run win on Saturday night, but not before the unfancied USA had given them a run for their money.
It needed a gem from captain Suryakumar Yadav aka SKY to lift his team out of a deep hole and put the game beyond USA’s reach.
Asked to bat first after skipper Monank Patel, one of eight Indian-origin players in the USA team, won the toss, the men in blue lost the flamboyant Abhishek Sharma for a first-ball duck. Ishan Kishan (20) and Tilak Varma (25) took the score from 8 to 45 before the disciplined USA bowlers ran through the feared batting lineup.
Shivam Dube also collected a golden duck, Rinku Singh managed 6 and Hardik Pandya made just 5 as India collapsed to 77/6 in the 13th over in front of a stunned Wankhede Stadium crowd.
It was time for SKY to take charge. Fortunate to have been dropped early in his innings, SKY singlehandedly carried India to 161 when even 120 seemed a distant dream at one stage.
In a typically sensational display of strokes that he has made his own, Surya struck 10 fours and 4 sixes to remain unbeaten on a 49-ball 84.
USA’s fine bowling performance was led by South Africa-born Shadley van Schalkwyk, who bagged 4/25 in four overs.
BRIEF SCORES
India 161/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 84*, Tilak Varma 25; Shadley van Schalkwyk 4/25).
USA 132/8 in 20 overs (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 37, Shubham Ranjane 37, Milind Kumar 34; Md Siraj 3/29, Arshdeep Singh 2/18, Axar Patel 2/24).
Result: India won by 29 runs.
Player of the Match: Suryakumar Yadav
India’s next match: Vs Namibia (Feb 12, Delhi).
