India were saved the blushes in their opening match of the T20 World Cup as skipper Suryakumar Yadav single-handedly helped the hosts avoid what could have been the biggest upset of the tournament.
USA had half the Indian batters back in the dug-out before the end of the 12th over but Suryakumar turned the match on its head with a 49-ball 84. His swipes behind the wickets, ending up in repeated rolls on the turf, left the USA bowlers looking for answers. His 10 boundaries and four sixes gave enough wind behind India’s sails to take them home comfortably. In the end, USA were restricted to 132/8 in 20 overs in reply to India’s 161/9, handing India a 29-run win on a platter.
But who would have imagined that coach Gautam Gambhir would have to come out to have a word with his batters during the drinks break – that too in a match against USA. But, this too happened after the end of the 14th over.
But frayed nerves were calmed as Suryakumar gradually got into the groove, starting off cautiously when the wickets were tumbling at the other end and finally hitting top gear in the business end. Twenty of his runs, two sixes and two fours, came in the last over off Saurabh Netravalkar. Suryakumar’s trademark 360-degree approach and leg-side play took the game away from USA even though the visitors were well in the game till the 19th over of India’s innings.
Right-arm medium pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/25) was the most successful bowler, removing three of the top-five Indian batsmen. Much like the India innings, USA’s top order came a cropper. Only Shubham Ranjane (37), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37) and Milind Kumar (34) were among runs.
Earlier, the pitch did offer some help and the USA bowlers did an admirable job by being accurate and sticking to their plan. USA contained India’s bullish opening with back-of-the-length bowling, giving them a long rope intermittently only to ensnare them at the boundary. What stood out was their point perfect stationing of fielders for every Indian batsman.
It was obvious from Ball One that the underdogs had done their homework well. USA were hamstrung by two injuries to their fast bowlers as Ali Khan and Shubham Ranjane left the field without completing their full quota of overs.
Later, USA’s spinners were good with their craft as the pitch slowed down. At the end of the first powerplay, India were 63/4, struggling at six runs an over – a noticeable aberration from India’s usual slam-bang approach which has defined their run-up to the T20 World Cup.
Opener Abhishek Sharma (0) fell on the very first delivery of the second over.
Opener Ishan Kishan (20) was caught at mid-off trying to slap an outside the off stump delivery by van Schalkwyk in the sixth over. Tilak Varma (25) miscued van Schalkwyk’s bumper to mid-wicket, leaving India 46/3 in the sixth over. Shivam Dube (0) top-edged van Schalkwyk to short fine leg, another prey falling to an outside the off trap. Rinku Singh (6) fell to Mohammad Mohsin. USA’s bowlers were successful in containing the Indian batters. Till Suryakumar came into the scene and changed the entire script.