India Begins T20 World Cup 2026 Campaign with 29-Run Win Over USA

February 8, 2026: India began their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a 29-run win at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Suryakumar Yadav-led team was the clear favourite, with pre-match talk even suggesting a possible 300-run total against the inexperienced USA bowling attack. When the visitors chose to bowl first, expectations were high, but the Indian batting line-up did not meet the hype.

Abhishek Sharma was out for a golden duck, while his opening partner Ishan Kishan scored only 20 runs off 16 balls. The middle order also struggled, as Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya all got out cheaply, leaving India at 77/6. With the team under pressure, it was the captain who steadied the innings.

Suryakumar Yadav played a brilliant unbeaten 84 off 49 balls, taking India to 161 runs, a total that once seemed difficult to reach. Despite little support at the other end, the 35-year-old thrived on home ground and gave India a competitive score to defend. For the USA, Shadley van Schalkwyk shone with four wickets. Saurabh Netravalkar, however, had a tough day, giving away 65 runs in his four overs—the most expensive spell in T20 World Cup history.

Indian Bowlers Too Hot to Handle

Indian bowlers were too strong for the USA to handle. Mohammed Siraj, who replaced the injured Harshit Rana, had a fantastic night, taking three important wickets, including Andries Gous and Saiteja Mukkamalla. Arshdeep Singh bowled very well again, giving only 11 runs in three overs. Spinner Axar Patel took two wickets and was once on a hat-trick chance, but missed it.

A comprehensive victory ✌️#TeamIndia are off the mark in the #T20WorldCup in fine fashion 👌👌

They win the #INDvUSA contest by 2⃣9⃣ runs 🙌

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/Rlm2ARPVEt#MenInBlue pic.twitter.com/f8GusqnvwG

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 7, 2026

USA Shows Fight, But Not Enough

Overall, the USA played well and gave India some warning signs, but it was not enough to win. Suryakumar Yadav’s India started their T20 World Cup campaign with a 29-run win. Siraj took three wickets. Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel took two wickets each, and Varun Chakravarty took one wicket.

However, India’s batting against a team like the USA will keep the team management thinking.

With this win, India now holds the record for the most wins in T20 World Cup history. They also hold the record for the lowest successful score defended at Wankhede Stadium.

Brief Scorecard:

India: 161/9 (Suryakumar 84, Tilak 25, Shadwick 25/4, Harmeet 26/2)

USA: 132/8 (Shubham 37, Sanjay 37, Siraj 29/3, Arshdeep 18/2)

Result: India won by 29 runs.