India survived a scare from the USA to kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a 29-run win on Saturday, February 7. On what was an unusually slow Wankhede surface, Suryakumar Yadav played a sublime knock of 84 not out off 49 balls to take India home in their title defence opener. The victory saw India create a major record in the T20 World Cup after their close shave in Mumbai.
The hosts were asked to bat first on the opening night of the T20 World Cup but were in all sorts of trouble at 77/6 as the unusual slowness and brilliant bowling from the US bowlers jolted the fiery Indian batting line-up.
Suryakumar delivers a brilliant performance
However, captain Suryakumar stood tall when he was needed the most in the match as his unbeaten 84 took the defending champions to a strong total of 161/9. While he rebuilt the innings in the middle overs with a mini 41-run stand for the seventh wicket with Axar Patel, who made 14.
The skipper launched a blistering attack in the final few overs as, from 94/6 after 15 overs, he helped the hosts collect 67 runs in the final five overs with 21 coming in the final over.
Bowlers do their job well
USA, having defeated Pakistan in the previous World Cup, then faced the brunt of the surface and could not have stood against the Indian bowling attack, which was missing Jasprit Bumrah but late-entrant Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel starred with wickets to hand India a 29-run win.
India create historical T20 World Cup record
With this win, the Men in Blue have created a historical record in the T20 World Cups. This was India’s ninth successive victory in the history of the tournament, which are now the most consecutive wins for a team.
India’s winning run began in the 2024 World Cup when they won eight matches in a row to clinch the title in Barbados. They were earlier tied with Australia and South Africa, both of who had eight consecutive wins as well.
Most consecutive wins in T20 World Cups:
9 India (2024-26) *
8 South Africa (2024)
8 Australia (2022-24)
7 India (2012-14)
Meanwhile, the Men in Blue created another record at the Wankhede. The 161-run total that they have defended is now the lowest score a team has won after batting first at the venue. The previous lowest defended score at the venue also belonged to India, when they had won despite scoring 162 against Sri Lanka in 2023.
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