India Beat USA by 29 Runs in a Close T20 World Cup Opener

India had a tough start but managed to beat USA by 29 runs in their first match of the tournament. All three opening-day matches were very close. USA played really well and put India under pressure early. If they had taken their chances, the result could have been different.

Earlier in the match, India were asked to bat first by Monank Patel. The Men in Blue lost Abhishek Sharma in the second over. They lost three wickets in the final over of the powerplay bowled by Shadley van Schalkwyk. Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma all perished. Suryakumar Yadav stood tall for the hosts and batted through the innings witha knock of 84* off 49 balls.

India Hold Their Nerve to Beat USA by 29 Runs in a Close Opener

Axar Patel scored 14 off 11. Ishan Kishan (20) and Tilak Varma (25) were the only other batters who got into double figures as India crawled their way to 161/9 from 20 overs. Shadley van Schalkwyk was the pick of the bowlers. He got 4 for 25 from his four overs. Harmeet Singh got 2 for 26 and one wicket each for Ali Khan and Mohammad Mohsin, capped off a good bowling performance from the USA.

In reply, Mohammed Siraj knocked over Andries Gous in his first over. Monank Patel bagged a duck and Saiteja Mukkamalla too fell cheaply. USA were 13/3 at one stage inside the powerplay when Milind Kumar and Sanjay Krishnamurthi added 58 runs for the fourth wicket.

Just three batters got into double figures for the USA. Milind Kumar (34), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37) and Shubham Ranjane (37) as they fell short by 29 runs in the end. Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 29. Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel bagged two apiece while Varun Chakaravarthy got one.