India vs USA, T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav dazzles but fails to beat Chris Gayle's record

Suryakumar Yadav produced a rescue act for the ages to bail India from a crisis situation in their opening game of T20 World Cup 2026 against USA on Saturday (February 7). Put into bat on an unusually two-paced Wankhede surface in Mumbai, India slipped to 77/6 and were in a proper soupt before Suryakumar (84* off 49) conjured a magical innings to turn the game on its head.

For a powerpacked Indian side that has breached the 250-mark three times already - no other team has managed it twice - batting first at the Wankhede would have meant ominous signs for USA but the visitors had their plans worked out neatly. Abhishek Sharma fell for a golden duck and comeback man Tilak Varma also didn't shine. Ishan Kishan, who has been in stunning touch, barely looked in sync today.

Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh also perished quickly, even as Suryakumar was taking his time at the other end. The Indian captain has played a massive chunk of his T20 career at the Wankhede, and he knew that pacing the innings well was crucial. Especially with the surface not being straightforward to bat on.

It was a measured innings as Suryakumar took 36 balls to bring up his fifty but then smashed 34 off the next 13 deliveries to give India an above-par total on the board. The Mumbai batter's innings was the second-best score on T20 World Cup captaincy debut, only behind Chris Gayle's 88 against Australia at The Oval in 2009. Nevertheless, it was a masterclass from Suryakumar.

Meanwhile, USA's veteran pacer Saurabh Netravalkar endured a nightmarish outing as he was taken to the cleaners throughout. The left-arm pacer leaked 65 off his four overs, making it the most expensive spell by any bowler in T20 World Cup history. The veteran got dealt with roughly, more so in the death when Suryakumar went after him without any mercy.