India will kick off their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 participation with their first group-stage match to be held against the United States of America. The IND vs USA match will mark the third match in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which will be played on the 7th of February.
The article that follows includes a detailed preview of the IND vs USA T20 World Cup match, which includes the head-to-head record, their probable playing XI, a pitch report and live streaming details of the second match in the series.
IND vs USA T20 World Cup Match Preview:
Match Date: The India vs USA match will be played on Saturday, February 7th.
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Venue: The match will take place at Wankhede Cricket Stadium, Mumbai.
Time: The match is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM IST.
IND vs USA Squads
India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Rinku Singh.
USA Squad: Monank Patel (C), Jessy Singh, Saiteja Mukkamala, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, and Shubham Ranjane.
IND vs USA Probable XIs:
India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy
USA Playing XI: Monank Patel (c/wk), Steven Taylor, Andries Gous, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Nisthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Ali Khan.
IND vs USA T20 World Cup Match Key Battles
Abhishek Sharma vs Saurabh Netravalkar
Indian batter Abhishek Sharma is the most explosive batsman in recent times. He has been coined as one of the biggest match-winners for India in recent times. The left-handed batter will be the ace cricketer behind scoring quick runs.
Saurabh Netravalkar, the left-arm quickster, has his roots in India and will return to India to play his first-ever ICC tournament in this nation. The left-armer might trouble Abhishek with his disciplined bowling, as he often cramps them in the batter’s room.
Tilak Varma vs Nisthush Kenjige
India’s batting form can easily be described as mind-blowing, which we noticed in the series against New Zealand. However, when India’s innings collapsed in the fourth T20I, there was no one to anchor the innings from one end, which reflected the absence of Tilak Varma.
The Mumbai Indians all-rounder is most likely to be facing the only trouble from the only spinner in the side. Nisthush Kenjige is one of the finest spinners from the USA side.
Monank Patel vs Arshdeep Singh
The USA captain has been promising to be the greatest player in the USA squad. Monank Patel has also scored several runs in the previous MLC season and has been playing T20 cricket around the world.
Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, has the knack of picking wickets with the new ball, which makes him a major competitor for the USA batter if he considers opening the innings in the World Cup.
Andries Gous vs Varun Chakravarthy
Andries Gous, another explosive batter who bats in the middle order for the franchise teams as well as the national side. Gous is a quality cricketer but lacks consistency; however, his role remains crucial to the USA batting order.
Varun Chakravarthy, the veteran spinner who is currently the highest-ranked ICC bowler in T20Is, is likely to challenge the batters through the middle overs, that is, between the 7th and 15th overs.
IND vs USA T20 World Cup Match Key Players:
India Key Players: Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy
USA Key Players: Steven Taylor, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Andries Gous
IND vs USA T20I World Cup Match – Free Live Streaming and Telecast Details
TV Broadcast in India: The matches between teams, including the India vs USA clash, will be broadcast live across India on the Star Sports Network.
Online Live Streaming in India: Fans from around the world can watch the match live on the JioHotstar app. An active subscription will be required.
IND vs USA T20I World Cup Match Weather and Pitch Report – Wankhede
IND vs USA: Weather Report in Mumbai
According to Accuweather, the temperature is going to be soaring a little high in the city, which is surrounded by the Arabian Sea. The temperature will be near to 33 degrees during the daytime and will now fall to lower than 23 as the match proceeds.
There is no probability for precipitation; hence, India can freely kickstart their campaign and play a full stretch of 20 overs in both the Indian and USA innings. It will also have fair cloud cover, and the humidity will be quite high.
IND vs USA: Pitch Report at Wankhede Stadium
The pitch at the Wankhede Cricket Stadium is known as one of the most favourable batting tracks in India. It is a paradise for batters, as it offers nothing to come to the aid of the batsmen.
The Wankhede pitch offers nothing for the spinners, and pacers will still have some success if they can be disciplined with their line and length. Though it has been reduced in recent times, the first innings totals have ranged to as high as 175-190 runs, with a rocket outfield aiding the batting side.
IND vs USA Head-to-Head Records
India and the USA, one of the two-time T20 World Cup Champions and one of the underdogs who are relatively new to the tournament, have faced each other only once, as they played in the group stages of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
India won the only match played between these two sides, while that game was played in the United States. However, they are yet to play their first game on Indian soil. Back in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, India won the match by 7 wickets.
|
Stats |
Matches |
IND Won |
USA Won |
Draw |
Tied |
NR |
|
Overall |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
In India |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Last 5 T20Is |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
IND vs USA T20 World Cup Match – Conclusion
The USA team will be looking forward to clinching a win this time around; however, India, the defending champions, would, on the other hand, aim to make a promising start to their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. India are hence the favourite going into the match ahead of Saturday.
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