Suryakumar's 84* Rescues India in Tense T20 WC Opener Against USA

Fans who gathered at Wankhede Stadium waiting for a collective 'SKYBall' exhibition of T20 batting were treated to a 'SKY' rescue effort as he single-handedly took a struggling India to 161/9, which the Men in Blue managed to defend with fine spells from Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel, restricting the USA to 132/8.

Speaking during the post-match presentation, Suryakumar said, "Only I can tell how much pressure I was feeling (smiles), but I had the belief. I knew if I batted till the end, I could make a difference. But then at the same time, I had that belief that I had batted in similar situations. And also when I have played a lot of cricket here in the maidans of Mumbai, cricket, Azad Maidan, Cross Maidan. So I knew that if I batted till the end, I could make a difference."

Surya said that the wicket was "a little different" from a usual Wankhede wicket.

"But at the same time, we knew when we woke up in the morning, we saw outside that there was not a lot of sun. I think the curator and the groundsmen tried their best to prepare the best pitch. But I think a few things are not in their control. So there wasn't enough sunlight to have that pitch rolled, watered. Maybe because of that, but we can't be brushing everything under the carpet. We could have batted a little better. (what could you have done better?) I think after winning, you get to learn a lot of things. And today we learned that we could have batted a little better or maybe a little smarter."

He also revealed that Abhishek Sharma, out for a golden duck and pacer Jasprit Bumrah, sitting on the sidelines, were "under the weather".

"Washi is joining us in Delhi. He's good. Everything is fine. Bumrah was having a high fever due to because of weather, like how Abhishek was under the weather. But rest, everything is good," he signed off.

Coming to the match, the USA won the toss and opted to field first. After a golden duck dismissal of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (20 in 16 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (25 in 16 balls, with three fours and a six) put on a 37-run partnership. Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/25 in four overs) got both the batters, and from there started India's downfall as they sank to 77/6, with Shivam Dube (0), Rinku Singh (6) and Hardik Pandya (5) disappointing the home crowd.

However, skipper Suryakumar (84* in 49 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes) did not give up, taking his side to 161/9 in 20 overs. Harmeet Singh (2/26) and Mohammad Mohsin (1/16) delivered sensational four-over spells, containing a strong Indian line-up.

In the run-chase, the USA was struggling at 13/3, with Mohammed Siraj (3/29) and Arshdeep Singh (2/18) striking early. A 58-run stand between Milind Kumar (34 in 34 balls, with three fours and a six) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37 in 31 balls, with a four and two sixes) helped USA fight. But later on, Indian bowlers kept getting wickets, and they restricted the USA to 132/8.

Now with this 'Player of the Match' award, Suryakumar has climbed over Virat Kohli for most T20I 'POTM' honours for India, getting his 17th one. This was also his fourth T20 WC POTM in 19 matches, climbing over legendary Yuvraj Singh. Virat owns the most T20 WC POTM awards, with eight in 35 matches.

This year has been incredible so far for Surya after a long slump, having so far scored 326 runs in six innings at an average of 108.66, with four fifties and a strike rate of 189.53. 161 is the lowest total successfully defended in the 10 T20Is at the Wankhede. With this win, India has secured their ninth consecutive win in the T20 WC, surpassing South Africa's eight wins in the 2024 edition.

- ANI