Suryakumar Yadav Shatters Virat Kohli's T20 World Cup Milestone, Narrowly Misses Rohit Sharma's Benchmark

T20 World Cup 2026: India clinched a commanding 29-run victory over the USA in the third match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, February 7.

Suryakumar Yadav was named Player of the Match following his captain’s knock in the first innings.

Making his T20 World Cup debut as skipper, Suryakumar scripted history. He came to the crease in the sixth over when India was at 45/2 and remained until the end of the innings, singlehandedly powering the team to 161/9.

Suryakumar played an unbeaten 84-run knock off 49 balls at a strike rate of 171.43, striking 10 fours and 4 sixes. In the final over, he smashed two sixes to lift India’s total.

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Suryakumar Yadav Scripts History In T20 World Cup History

With this magnificent performance at Wankhede, Suryakumar Yadav leapfrogged Virat Kohli to become the second-highest scorer as Indian captain in T20 World Cup history.

The 35-year-old narrowly missed Rohit Sharma’s milestone by just eight runs. Had he scored eight more, he would have surpassed Rohit’s record to become the highest scorer as Indian captain in the prestigious tournament.

Rohit Sharma holds the top spot with his 92-run knock against Australia in 2024, while Virat Kohli sits third with a 57-run innings against Pakistan in 2021.

Suryakumar Yadav began his T20I career in 2021 against England in Ahmedabad. Since then, the right-hander has played 104 matches and 98 innings, scoring 3,030 runs at a strike rate of 165.48 and an average of 36.95, including four centuries and 24 half-centuries.

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India Start Title Defence Campaign With A Win

Recapping the match: USA won the toss and opted to bowl. Although Monank Patel’s decision initially favored the Americans, India shifted the momentum as the game progressed.

Suryakumar’s unbeaten 84 powered India to 161/9 in the first innings. Shadley van Schalkwyk led the USA bowling attack with a four-wicket haul.

During the chase, India’s bowlers restricted the USA to 132/8. Mohammed Siraj spearheaded the attack with three wickets, while Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel chipped in with two wickets each.