Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 8 : The Indian men's team head coach Gautam Gambhir lauded T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav's batting during the India vs USA T20 World Cup 2026 match on Saturday at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Team India registered a hard-fought victory against the USA to kick their T20 World Cup title defence off on a positive note. While the USA lost the match by 29 runs, they did not give in and gave the defending champions a proper fight.
Suryakumar Yadav's 49-ball 84 in the first innings was the difference between both sides, as he was the only half-centurion in the entire match.
In a video released by the Indian Cricket Team on Instagram, coach Gambhir lauds Suryakumar's innings against the USA, labelling it a "masterclass".
"Guys, good result today. (On Suryakumar Yadav's batting) To start with, that was a masterclass. That was outstanding. I've seen in T20 cricket, especially under pressure, the situation we were in; I thought it was unbelievable," says Gambhir in the video.
Suryakumar Yadav, on the other hand, said he was happy with the overall outcome despite a shaky first game, calling it an important wake-up call for the players and support staff. Acknowledging the challenging pitch, he admitted the batting could have been handled better, stressing that the team must learn from it.
"Very, very happy with the way things went, though it was a little bit of a scare and hiccup for the first game, but then it was a good eye-opener for me and all the boys and the support staff. It's part of the game, but we had to show character on the field, and I've played in similar situations before, so I knew that me staying there was very important for the side. I understand that it was a little difficult wicket to bat on. We've not played on such wickets before. But yeah, at the same time, we can't brush it under the carpet. We have to understand how we could have batted. We could have applied it a little better, but then at the end of the day, it's part of the game," the Indian captain says in the video.
After being asked to bat first, the Men in Blue scored 161/9 in 20 overs against the USA. Suryakumar Yadav played an unbeaten knock of 84 off 49 deliveries, with 10 fours and four sixes. Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan (20 off 16 balls, with one four and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (25 off 16 balls, with three fours and one six) also chipped in with the bat.
For the USA, Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/29) and Harmeet Singh (2/26) were among the wicket-takers.
In response, the USA were restricted to 132/8 as they lost the match by 29 runs. Milind Kumar (34 off 34 balls, with four boundaries), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37 off 31 balls, with two sixes and one four) and Shubham Ranjane (37 off 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) played fighting knocks for their side.
For India, Mohammed Siraj (3/29), Axar Patel (2/24), and Arshdeep Singh (2/18) picked wickets.