Rohit Sharma led Team India will look to book a berth in the Super 8 stage tonight as they take on co-hosts USA at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. After beating Ireland and arch-rivals Pakistan in their first two matches, India is looking to ride on their confidence, as team USA is sitting right behind India in the Group A table with two wins in two matches, only slightly behind in net run rate.
The equation stands the same for the USA, as they also have managed to register wins in their first two matches, including the upset against 2009 champions Pakistan last week. Standing against all odds, the US team, led by Monank Patel, showed great character and pushed their limit which brought them the valuable win against their opponents.
Although Team India are still unbeaten in this tournament, there are still a few concerns to be addressed regarding individual form. The foremost one being Virat Kohli’s form, who managed to score just five runs in eight balls across two innings. Newcomer Shivam Dube is also under the radar as he failed to capitalise on the chance during last match against Pakistan, giving away his wicket after scoring merely three runs off nine balls.
Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja’s form is also under the scanner, as failed to perform in both the departments in the last two matches. His underwhelming performance in the T20 World Cup brings forth the question of whether in-form leg spinner Kuldeep Yadav should be given a chance or not.
T20 specialist batter Suryakumar Yadav will also look to utilise this opportunity against the US to get his form back, a glimpse of which we saw ever since he made his T20 debut three years back. The inability of both Suryakumar and Dube to click in the tournament might prompt the Indian team management to try out Sanju Samson in lieu of one of them against the USA.
As for Team USA, they will look to continue their superb form and expect another big upset against the Men in Blue tonight. Even if they lose tonight against India, they can still qualify for the Super 8 stage by beating Ireland in their last group stage match. India can also still qualify for the next round even if they lose tonight, if they manage to beat Canada in their last group stage fixture, before heading to the Caribbean islands for Super 8.
Team India Squad:
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Team USA squad:
Steven Taylor, Monank Patel(w/c), Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Nisarg Patel, Shayan Jahangir, Milind Kumar, Shadley van Schalkwyk.
The India vs USA T20 World Cup group stage match will take place on Wednesday, June 12, starting from 8:00 pm IST. In India, the match will be telecasted live on Star Sports network and DD Sports, whereas it will live streamed in India on Disney+ Hotstar.
