Picture Credit : BCCI
Defending ICC T20 world Cup champions and title favorites India pulled off a hard fought win over the United States in their opening fixture. The men in blue pulled off a 29 run in Mumbai despite facing early hurdles and sent a message of intent across the competition that they are very serious about defending their crown and adding a third star to their jersey.
India were invited to bat first on a cool evening at the Wankhede Stadium and were made to face the heat early on in the game. The hosts lost early wickets with world’s number one batter Abhishek Sharma walking for a duck and his teammates following suit. Ishan Kishan and Tilak Verma looked set, but were also sent away in the powerplay.
In came Suryakumar Yadav who stood his ground even though wickets kept on falling on the other end. The skipper guided India to a respectable total of 161/9 and shifted the momentum towards his side with his explosive batting before the bowlers stood up to the occasion and wrapped up a comfortable win for the defending champions. What’s next for India?
India will face off against Namibia in their second group stage fixture on February 12 at 7pm IST at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Suryakumar Yadav’s side will arrive in this fixture as clear favorites, but will need to go back to the drawing board and fix the issues that they faced against the United States.
- India vs Namibia
- Date: February 12, 2025
- Time: 7pm IST
- Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
While it might look like an easy game for India on paper, the men in blue will need to be cautious about Namibia's strengths because they can cause an upset on their day of no error. India should not underestimate anyone for the remainder of the World Cup especially after what happened against the United States today.
