IND vs USA: 3 reasons behind India's top order struggle in T20 World Cup 2026

The IND vs USA encounter of T20 World Cup 2026 is underway at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Indian Cricket Team kick-started their stint in T20 World Cup 2026 with the clash against USA on Saturday, February 7, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While the Suryakumar Yadav & Co. were expected to come up with a brilliant show in the encounter, they had a terrible batting collapse.

USA captain Monank Patel won the toss and opted to field first in the encounter. India went ahead with Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma as openers, benching Sanju Samson. Sharma bagged a golden duck in the second over itself, getting out to Ali Khan.

After facing an early blow, the Men-in-Blue batted well till the fifth over, scoring runs at a run-rate of around 10. However, they lost three batters in the sixth over. USA pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk dismantled India’s top order, clinching three wickets. Ishan Kishan (20), Tilak Varma (25), and Shivam Dube (0) became his victims, with the scoreboard reaching 46/4 at the end of powerplay overs.

India’s batting collapse against USA shocked the spectators inside the Wankhede Stadium as well as viewers outside the stadium. Let’s look at three reasons behind India’s top-order collapse in IND vs USA game.

IND vs USA: 3 reasons behind India’s top order struggle

3. Sudden change in opening slot

Notably, India have changed their opening slot just ahead of T20 World Cup 2026. Due to Sanju Samson’s struggles in the previous T20I series against New Zealand, Ishan Kishan was asked to open alongside Abhishek Sharma. Although Kishan and Sharma have extensive experience as openers, they have not batted together enough.

2. Over-confidence against USA players

Although USA are an associate nation, they earned accolades in the previous edition of T20 World Cup by crushing Pakistan and qualifying for the Super Eight round. Due to the presence of many Indian-origin players, USA have a strong core squad and have also captured victories against a few big teams in T20I cricket.

However, the Men-in-Blue became over-confident against them and under-estimated their bowling attack. Most of the batters lost their wickets while trying to hit big shots.

1. Hard-hitting approach in batting

Under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy, India have adopted a hard-hitting approach in T20Is. All the batters in the playing XI are known for their aggressive batting style, which has also helped them to post and chase big totals in many games.

However, the same strategy failed against the USA, with batters losing wickets in quick succession. They did not analyse the wicket well and their aggressive batting style totally backfired against USA bowlers.

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