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Suryakumar Yadav's 84* Powers India in T20 WC, Nears Rohit's Record

Captain Suryakumar Yadav led from the front with an unbeaten 84 off 49 balls against the USA in India's opening T20 World Cup match. This innings marked his fourth half-century in just six matches in 2026 and helped him complete 1000 runs as India's T20I captain. His score is the second-highest by an Indian captain in the tournament's history, trailing only Rohit Sharma's 92*. Yadav's knock, featuring a 21-run final over, propelled India to a competitive total after a top-order collapse.

Key Points: Suryakumar Yadav Slams 84* in T20 World Cup, Hits 4th 2026 Fifty

  • 84* off 49 balls vs USA
  • 4th fifty in six 2026 matches
  • 2nd-highest score by Indian captain in T20 WC
  • Fifth-highest score by any captain in tournament history
  • Completed 1000 runs as captain
3 min read

T20 WC: Skipper Surya slams fourth fifty of 2026 in record-breaking effort

Captain Suryakumar Yadav scores unbeaten 84 vs USA, records 2nd-highest score by an Indian skipper in T20 WC history. His 4th fifty of 2026.

"He put on display his usual 360-degree shot-making - Match Report"

Mumbai, Feb 7

Captain Suryakumar Yadav hammered an unbeaten 84 off 49 balls against the USA in India's first match in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, blasting the second-highest score by an Indian captain in the mega event.

The India captain continued his rich vein of form in 2026, scoring his fourth half-century in six matches and in the process completing 1000 runs as captain. He has scored 326 runs in six innings so far this year. His 84* is the second-highest score by an Indian captain behind Rohit Sharma's 92 not out off 41 balls against Australia in 2024.

Surya's 84 not out is the second-highest score in a debut innings as a captain in T20 World Cup, behind Gayle's 88 against Australia at the Oval in 2009.

This is also the fifth-highest score by a captain in the men's T20 World Cup as SKY moved past Jos Buttler's 83* against the USA in 2024. West Indies legend Chris Gayle leads the list with 98 against India in 2010.

This was Suryakumar Yadav's 29th half-century in T20Is and helped him. Suryakumar started 2026 with 32 against New Zealand and followed it up with 82 not out and 57* in the next two matches. His lone failure was at Visakhapatnam in the fourth match when he scored eight runs before he rounded off the five-match series against the BlackCaps with a 63 off 30 balls.

On Saturday, Yadav came into the middle after opener Ishan Kishan had joined his partner Abhishek Sharma in the dugout with the score 45/2 in the sixth over. He saw the team slump to 46/4 at the end of the power play as Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube departed in quick succession.

The 36-year-old explosive batter, playing at his home ground Wankhede Stadium, raced to his fifth off 36 balls, hitting seven boundaries and one six.

In between, he saw Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya return to the pavilion without adding many runs to the scoreboard. But Suryakumar did not lose hope and continued to fight, hitting boundaries whenever possible. He raised 41 runs for the seventh wicket partnership with Axar Patel as they blasted 21 runs off the 16th over bowled by Saurabh Netravalkar.

He put on display his usual 360-degree shot-making, hitting a four and six off Netravalkar and another four and six in the same over off Shadley van Schalkwyk, the bowler who troubled India by claiming 4-25 in his first spell. He scored 21 runs off Netravalkar in the final over as India managed to reach a fighting total.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Brilliant knock under pressure. But I'm a bit worried about the middle order collapse. 46/4 in the powerplay is not ideal, even against USA. We can't rely on one player every time. The others need to step up, especially in a World Cup.
V
Vikram M
SKY is in the form of his life! Fourth fifty this year already. That stat about being second only to Gayle for a debut captain's innings is massive. He's proving all the critics wrong who said he's only good for the IPL. Captaincy is bringing out the best in him.
R
Rohit P
Wankhede crowd must have gone wild! Nothing like watching SKY bat at his home ground. The partnership with Axar was crucial. But honestly, letting USA take 4 wickets so early is a concern. Bowling needs to be tight now to defend this.
S
Sarah B
As a cricket fan living abroad, it's amazing to see the USA team putting up a fight! Netravalkar with 4 wickets is impressive. But Suryakumar's innings was a masterclass. The future of cricket in America looks bright if they can produce more players like this.
K
Karthik V
The man is a run-machine! 1000 runs as captain already? That's some record. His consistency in 2026 has been phenomenal. Hope he saves his best for the matches against Pakistan and Australia. Jai Hind!

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