New York: Suryakumar Yadav scored a 49-ball unbeaten half-century after Arshdeep Singh claimed four wickets as India thrashed USA by seven wickets in a Group A match to qualify for the Super Eight stage in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
It was India’s bowlers who set up the win as they delivered a masterclass in seam and swing bowling, setting the stage for their batsmen to chase down a manageable total and secure a vital victory in their T20 World Cup campaign.
Arshdeep claimed four wickets for nine runs in four overs while Hardik Pandya bagged 2-14 as India restricted USA to 110/8 in 20 overs.
After setting a modest target of 111, USA's Saurabh Netravalkar shocked India with early wickets -- Virat Kohli got out nicking behind for a golden duck while Rohit Sharma was caught by Harmeet Singh for three. It was the stuff of dreams for the 32-year-old, who had spoken about the desire to chat with Kohli, among others, after the match.
Skipper Rohit Sharma was opened up by an in-swinger from Netravalkar. On both occasions, Netravalkar had the ball slanting away from the right-handers. Rohit turned the bat face a tad early to get a leading edge to mid-off where Harmeet Singh, Rohit's junior at school, took an excellent catch running back.
Out came Suryakumar Yadav, Netravalkar's close friend from Mumbai. The two have known each other from their Under-15 days and played club cricket together before being teammates in the Ranji Trophy. Yadav added 29 runs in 32 deliveries for the third wicket with Rishabh Pant. Pant was cleaned up by Ali Khan for 18 runs as the ball shot low and skidded through the batter's defence.
With another Mumbaikar Shivam Dube as his new partner, Yadav repaired the innings. He began with his trademark flick for six over long leg but was treading caution. With 55 needed off 45 balls, Yadav looked to create shots out of the box.
Five penalty runs were awarded to India with 35 needed off 30 as thrice in the inning USA failed to start the over within the time limit.
Everything fell in peace for India as Yadav--the NO.1 T20I batter as per the ICC Rankings, scored a 49-ball half-century and took India to a seven-wicket victory. Dube remained unbeaten on 31.
Earlier in the day, India's clinical bowling display, spearheaded by Arshdeep Singh, restricted hosts USA to a modest total of 110/8. On a day when conditions favoured the bowlers with abundant swing and seam movement, India won the toss and elected to field.
The USA are now faced with a must-win situation in their final group match against Ireland. (Photo courtesy: X@T20WorldCup)
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was full of praise for batter Suryakumar Yadav.
Rohit said that Surya has shown his versatility, which is expected from experienced players and also adapted his batting to the situation perfectly.
"He showed that he has got a different game as well and that is what you expect from experienced players - to come out and bat differently if the situation demands and that is what Surya Kumar Yadav did. That partnership with Shivan Dube was very important for us and in the end, to take us home was a great effort," said Rohit after the win.
"We knew it was going to be a tough task scoring those many runs on the board. But credit to us at the end that we held our nerves, and got that partnership as well. Yes, we lost some wickets upfront but you know credit to Surya Kumar Yadav and Shivam Dube to show maturity and take the game till the end," he added.
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New York: The United States cricket team became the first side to be penalised under the new stop-clock regulations designed to speed up the pace of play in T20 international cricket against India in Group A match of the T20 World Cup at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
The USA were pulled up for not starting the next over in time and as a result, their opponents India were awarded extra runs.
The regulation, which became a permanent feature in men’s ODIs and T20Is from June 1, stipulates that the fielding side must begin the next over within 60 seconds of the previous one ending. If they fail to do so three times in an innings, a five-run penalty is imposed and runs are awarded to their opponent.
With India chasing a target of 111, they needed 35 runs off the final five overs, a challenging task on a difficult batting pitch. At the start of the 16th over, the stop-clock regulation came into play as the USA failed to start the over on time for the third time in the innings. The umpires promptly imposed the five-run penalty, reducing India's target to 30 off 30 balls, significantly easing the pressure on the batting side.
The introduction of the stop-clock was meant to improve over rates, and its trial period showed promising results, saving around 20 minutes per ODI match. However, no team had been penalized for sticking to the stop-clock thrice in a single innings until this match, making the USA the first to suffer the consequences of this new rule.
The USA are now faced with a must-win situation in their final group match against Ireland. A win or no result would see them through to the Super Eight, but a loss could leave their qualification hopes hinging on net run rate.
