Captain Suryakumar shines as clinical India brush aside USA in T20 World Cup 2026 opener

India beat USA in Match 3 of T20 World Cup 2026. [Source: @bcci/x]

India registered a commanding start to their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a convincing victory by 29 runs over the USA in Match 3 on Saturday, February 7. A composed rescue act with the bat from Suryakumar Yadav, followed by a clinical bowling performance, powered India to a dominant win at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Here, we take a look at the complete highlights of Match 3 of the T20 World Cup 2026 between India and the USA, as it unfolded on Saturday, February 7, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Van Schalkwyk’s powerplay carnage leaves India reeling at 46/4

India’s innings derailed early after being asked to bat first, suffering a nightmare start inside the powerplay. World No.1 ranked batter Abhishek Sharma departed for a golden duck as Ali Khan struck immediately, pushing India on the back foot despite expectations of another explosive opening.

USA’s bowlers extracted movement and grip with the new ball, consistently challenging India’s top order. Tilak Varma counter-attacked with a few powerful strokes, while Ishan Kishan also found boundaries, briefly suggesting India were settling into their familiar powerplay rhythm.

The momentum shifted dramatically in the final over of the powerplay when Shadley van Schalkwyk ran through India’s top-order. In five balls, he dismissed Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube, leaving India stunned at 46 for 4 after six overs.

Captain Suryakumar’s rescue act lifts India to a competitive total

With India in deep trouble, Rinku Singh joined Suryakumar Yadav and the pair began a cautious rebuilding phase, focusing on rotation rather than risk. Just when the Indian pair was looking to up the scoring rate, Rinku fell, soon followed by the dangerous Hardik Pandya, leaving Suryakumar running out of partners.

Axar Patel provided brief resistance alongside the Indian skipper, ensuring the scoreboard kept moving as the innings edged towards the death overs. With wickets falling regularly, the onus remained on the Indian skipper to anchor the innings while searching for late momentum.

He eventually switched gears brilliantly at the death, smashing 33 runs off the final two overs to lift India to 161. He finished unbeaten on a superb 84 off 49 balls. Despite Shadley van Schalkwyk’s four-wicket haul, USA will rue not restricting India to what looked like around a 150-run total at one stage.

Indian bowlers dominate as USA crumble in the chase

USA’s chase of 162 never found momentum as they slipped to a disastrous start, losing three early wickets and crawling to just 31 in the powerplay. Mohammed Siraj, drafted in as Harshit Rana’s replacement, made an instant impact with two wickets in a tight three-over spell.

Milind Kumar and Sanjay Krishnamurthi attempted to rebuild with a cautious partnership, but India’s spinners applied the squeeze through the middle overs, controlling the run rate and striking regularly towards the end. As wickets kept falling, the equation came down to a daunting 62 required off the final four overs.

Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Siraj returned at the death to shut the door firmly, cleaning up the tail and ending any late hopes. USA eventually finished 29 runs short, going down convincingly in the opening match of their campaign despite brief resistance.