Picture Credit : BCCI
India began their campaign in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 on a winning note with a 29-run win against the USA, with Captain Suryakumar Yadav leading the charge. India pacer Mohammed Siraj, and Irfan Pathan and Virender Sehwag shared their thoughts on bowling in the powerplay and the importance of Suryakumar Yadav's knock.
Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj spoke about the surface at the Wankhede Stadium and the importance of early wickets:
“On this wicket, Test-match length was very important because hitting sixes from that length wasn’t easy. I know it’s the T20 format, but length was key. We were okay if we got hit from that length, so we had to stick to that plan, and we got the results, whether it was sixes or wickets. Initially, I went for swing with the first two balls but didn’t get it, so I thought I should stick to my strength because the wobble seam has given me a lot of success. The wicket was a little two-paced and the new ball was very important. You saw that during our batting as well, it wasn’t easy to score with the new ball. That was our plan, to try and get as many wickets as possible in the Powerplay, because that would put the opposition under pressure.”
Irfan Pathan elaborated on Siraj's spell in the Powerplay:
“Mohammed Siraj comes into his own when he doesn’t have Bumrah alongside him. He does some magical things. That was a fantastic performance from him. He was hungry, and he got the opportunity. Just one day ago, he joined the team and gave a performance like that. At the halfway stage, India were under pressure; there was no doubt about it, because it was not a score of 200, it was about 160. And if the USA had got a good start, India would have been in trouble. So, Siraj and Arshdeep’s spells in the Powerplay were very crucial, and that was the difference in India winning this game.”
On Captain Suryakumar Yadav's knock after soaking the pressure:
“When Suryakumar Yadav, as Captain, was speaking, he talked about being a bit smarter. He knew that if he went aggressively at the start, he might lose a wicket and they would be in trouble. In his first 12 balls, he was on six runs, which doesn’t happen with Suryakumar Yadav. At the same time, once he got set, he played his favourite shots and played the field as well. When the mid-off was up, he went over mid-off. When the fine- leg was in, he played above fine-leg and square-leg as well. More than 50 per cent of the runs came in his favourite area. But how did it come? It came with the sweep. Against the fast bowlers, it mainly came after he got set and was in total control. So, he played the conditions, the situation and the pitch to the T.”
Virender Sehwag hailed Suryakumar Yadav's knock while also praising the USA bowlers:
“Imagine if the Indian team had been all out for just 100, we wouldn’t have said that a weak team like the USA beat India. They have also come to play in the World Cup. That’s why I feel it was one of the best knocks of Suryakumar Yadav’s career. I always say, focus on the ball and not the bowler, because if it pitches in the right area, you have to respect it. If you go for your shots on a good ball, you might get out. Take this USA team, we had heard very little about some of these bowlers, but they were able to reduce India to 77 for 6, which I don’t think any other team has managed in the last two to two-and-a-half years. So, hats off to Suryakumar Yadav, he played extremely well.”
