T20 WC: Defending champions India kick off campaign against USA
What's the story
Defending champions India will begin their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against the United States of America. The match is scheduled for February 7 at Mumbai's Wankhede Cricket Stadium. This will be the third match of the tournament, which is expected to be dominated by the home team. Hence, the American team needs to play out of its skin. Here is the preview of the encounter.
Venue details
A look at the pitch report
The Wankhede Stadium is known for its batting-friendly pitch, making it an ideal venue for high-scoring matches. Although spinners may not get much help from this surface, disciplined pacers can still have some success. First innings scores on this ground have often been in the range of 175-190 runs due to a fast outfield that favors batsmen. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream it on the JioHotstar app/website (7:00pm IST).
Weather conditions
Will rain play a part?
The weather in Mumbai on match day is expected to be warm with temperatures hovering around 33 degrees Celsius during the day and dropping below 23 as night falls. There is no chance of rain, ensuring a full game of cricket. However, humidity levels are expected to be high with fair cloud cover throughout the day. Hence, the toss-winning skipper is likely to elect bowling.
IND vs USA
India to enter as favorites
Despite injuries to Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar, who have missed the recent international assignments, the Indian team looks strong on paper. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, the Men in Blue are one of the favorites for the competition. USA, who upset Pakistan in the 2024 edition, must do well across all departments to challenge the home team.
Information
Have USA and India met before in international cricket?
In their only previous international encounter during the group stages of the T20 World Cup 2024, India beat USA by seven wickets. It was a one-sided affair in New York that saw the Men in Blue dominate.
Toss significance
Here are the playing XIs
India (Probable XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy. USA (Probable XI): Monank Patel (c & wk), Steven Taylor, Andries Gous, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Nisthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan.
Performers
Here are the key performers
Abhishek Sharma, who has a strike rate of 190-plus in the format, is the current top-ranked T20I batter. While Arshdeep Singh was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2024 T20 WC, Jasprit Bumrah's stellar spells earned him the Player of the Tournament honor. USA skipper Monank Patel has tallied 365 T20I runs since the start of 2025 at 73 (SR: 163.67). Their ace pacer Ali Khan, who has featured in several prominent T20 leagues, owns 94 wickets in the format.
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