India captain Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy innings in the India vs USA T20 World Cup 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7. Yadav registered his name in the pages of record books with his undisputed innings.
The Indian batting order unexpectedly weakened against the American bowling team in the third match of the tournament. At one point in the game, the home team had lost 6 wickets for 77 runs. As half the batsmen went back to the hut, the 100-run mark was looking miles away from India’s boundary. From there, it was Yadav who single-handedly brought Team India back into the contest.
Yadav is leading from the front
Batting first after losing the toss, the defending champions scored 161 runs at the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav himself added 84 runs. The middle-order batsman remained unbeaten after facing 49 balls. He not only tried to provide some stability to the batting structure but also tried his best to score a crucial score. During this, he hit a total of fourteen fours, which included ten fours and four sixes.
In the last edition of the T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma was leading the team. After his retirement, Suryakumar Yadav was named as the leader of the army. The current tournament is the first T20 World Cup for him as a captain. And the Mumbaikar created history in his first innings as captain in the T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav left Babar Azam behind
Yadav, thanks to his unbeaten 84, is officially the second-highest run-scorer as a debutant captain in the ICC T20 World Cup, leaving behind some of the best in the business like Babar Azam (Pak) and Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka). Former West Indies opener Chris Gayle tops the list with 88 runs, which he scored against Australia at The Oval in 2009.
Highest score in first innings as captain (T20 World Cup):
1. 88 Chris Gayle vs Australia The Oval 2009
2. 84*Suryakumar Yadav vs USA, Wankhede, 2026
3. 68*Babar Azam vs India, Dubai, 2021
4. 65 Mahela Jayawardene vs Ken Joburg, 2007
5. 61 Mohammed Ashraful vs WO Joburg 2007
New Zealand helps Suryakumar Yadav find mojo
Yadav had to struggle a lot for Team India in 2025. He batted brilliantly for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 season, but his performance for the national cricket team has been forgettable. Ahead of the start of the 2026 T20 World Cup, when there were many doubts over Yadav’s credibility as a T20 batsman, he made a comeback.
The 35-year-old batsman recorded three half-centuries during the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand. Today’s match against USA is proof that he is in the same fiery form that he showed during the bilateral series against the Blackcaps.
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