Favourites India reduced to 77/6 by lion-hearted USA

On Saturday night Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav made his second T20 World Cup fifty against USA, leading the co-hosts to victory by 29 runs. They were hot favourites going into the game yet 13 overs into the first innings, they were down in the doldrums at 77 for 6.

Suryakumar played a captain’s knock worth 84 not out off 49 balls to discharge the clean-up duties with perfection. The US managed 132-8 in reply, producing a valiant fight but never really coming ⁠close to chasing down the target.

Mohammed Siraj (3-29) justified his last-minute ⁠inclusion as Rana’s replacement with a two-wicket burst, while Arshdeep Singh also tasted success as they reduced USA to 31-3 in the Powerplay, although a few thirties from the middle-order kept the spark alive. However, in the end, India’s bowling prowess was too hot to handle, as USA fell short by 29 runs.

Brief Scores: India 161/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 84; Shadley van Schalkwyk 4-25, Harmeet Singh 2-26) beat USA 132/8 in 20 overs (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 37; Mohammed Siraj 3-29, Arshdeep Singh 2-18, Axar Patel 2-24) by 29 runs