Sports

Suryakumar’s unbeaten 84 rescues India against USA in T20 World Cup

Published

15 hours ago

February 7, 2026

India captain Suryakumar Yadav struck a sparkling unbeaten 84 off 49 balls on Saturday to rescue the hosts from 77-6 to a competitive 161-9 against the USA in their opening T20 World Cup match in Mumbai.

Shadley van Schalkwyk took three wickets in the sixth over to leave defending champions and overwhelming tournament favourites India in disarray at 46-4 at a stunned Wankhede stadium.

But Suryakumar paced his innings brilliantly, shepherding the tail and smashing 10 fours and four sixes as India plundered 75 off the final six overs.

After USA captain Monank Patel won the toss and opted to field, his decision was rewarded with the prize wicket of the dangerous Abishek Sharma off the first ball he faced.

The left-handed Abishek attempted a typically flamboyant back-foot drive for six off the bowling of Ali Khan to be caught on the cover boundary by Sanjay Krishnamurthi.

Number three Tilak Varma announced his arrival with a six and two fours off Saurabh Netravalkar.

At 45-1, Ishan Kishan slapped Van Schalkwyk to Milind Kumar at mid-off on 20 to spark a mini collapse.

It was soon 46-3 as captain Tilak also fell to Van Schalkwyk, splicing an attempted pull to the US captain Patel at midwicket.

Next ball Shivam Dube also fell to leave Van Schalkwyk on a hat-trick, which was successfully staved off by Suryakumar.

They crept to 63-4 at the halfway stage which soon became 72-5 and 77-6 when Rinku Singh was caught in the deep and Hardik Pandya perished in similar fashion.

Suryakumar exploded in the 16th over, hitting three fours and a six off seamer Saurabh Netravalkar.

He reached his fifty off 36 balls with a trademark wristy sweep for four.
The final over saw Suryakumar smash 21 runs off Netravalkar including two sixes.

Van Schalkwyk finished with 4-25 from his four overs.

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Sports

Afghanistan captain Rashid harbours dream of playing in Kabul

Published

9 minutes ago

February 8, 2026

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CHENNAI: Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan said Saturday he dreams of playing an international match at home in Kabul, which for him would be “bigger than the World Cup”.

Rashid will captain the surprise 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finalists against New Zealand in their opening match of the 2026 edition in Chennai on Sunday.

But he said the ultimate prize for him would be to lead out Afghanistan one day in the capital Kabul in front of their home fans.

“Yes, that’s bigger than the World Cup to be honest, for me and for the team,” Rashid told reporters. “Then all the media, all these people will see how people back home in Afghanistan are.

“How they are welcoming international players and how they are enjoying cricket.”

The war-ravaged nation has never hosted an international match, instead having to play their nominally home fixtures at adopted grounds in India and the UAE.

“It’s something which is more than a dream to be playing international cricket in your own country,” said Rashid. “When you play in your own country, it’s a kind of different feeling and the world will see the country Afghanistan as well, how beautiful it is.”

Afghanistan beat New Zealand, West Indies, Australia and Bangladesh on their way to the semi-finals two years ago.

But this time they are in a tricky-looking Group ‘D’ where they will also have to face South Africa, Canada and the UAE, with only the top two progressing to the Super Eights.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2026

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