How Gambhir helped Suryakumar Yadav keep calm under pressure vs USA? Batter reveals

India captain Suryakumar Yadav revealed how head coach Gautam Gambhir had a calming influence on him under immense pressure during India’s opening game of the T20 World Cup 2026 against the USA. Suryakumar rose to the occasion, producing a magnificent rescue act to bail India out of trouble after they had slumped to 77/6 in 12.4 overs.

The India skipper scored an unbeaten 84* off 49 balls, smashing ten fours and four sixes in a commanding innings that helped the team post a competitive total of 161/9 in their allotted 20 overs. His innings played a key role in India’s 29-run victory, as he was adjudged Player of the Match. Following his knock, Suryakumar revealed details of a conversation he had with head coach Gautam Gambhir, who advised him to bat till the end, pointing out that his wide array of strokes would allow him to accelerate later in the innings.

T20 World Cup: India vs USA Highlights

“I always felt that there was a need for a batter to bat till the end. I never felt that it was a 180–190 wicket. I felt it was a 140 wicket. But then Gauti bhai told me the same thing during the break after 14 overs. He told me, ‘Just try and bat till the end; you can cover it any time.’ And also, the most important thing is that I have played a lot of my cricket in Bombay, on this wicket and on the maidans of Mumbai cricket. So I know how to bat on similar kinds of wickets,” said Suryakumar in the post-match presentation.

Suryakumar also mentioned that he was under significant pressure after wickets fell quickly, but backed himself to guide the team out of trouble.

“Only I can tell how much pressure I was feeling at the position we were in at 77/6. But at the same time, I had the belief that I have batted in similar situations before. I knew that if I batted till the end, I could make a difference. Today, we learned that we could have batted a little better or maybe a little smarter. Those small partnerships could have taken us to 160 rather than one or two batters trying to play till the end. But at the same time, it’s OK. We’ll sit around, say we have a lot of time — five days — for the next game, and we’ll come back stronger,” he added.

Suryakumar rips apart Saurabh Netravalkar

Suryakumar walked out to bat in the sixth over and endured a slow start, managing just seven runs off his first 13 deliveries as wickets continued to tumble during India’s difficult middle overs. He eventually got his innings going with a couple of boundaries off Shubham Ranjane and was also dropped by the same bowler in that over, a moment that proved costly for the USA.

Suryakumar gradually built his innings with great composure and confidence before bringing up his half-century off 36 balls. He then provided the perfect finish to the innings, smashing Saurabh Netravalkar for 21 runs in the final over. Netravalkar ended up registering the most expensive bowling figures in T20 World Cup history, conceding 65 runs without taking a wicket in his four overs.

Suryakumar also recorded the second-highest score by an India captain in T20 World Cup history, as well as the second-highest score on captaincy debut in the tournament, behind Chris Gayle’s 88 off 50 balls against Australia in 2009.

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