India vs USA, T20 World Cup: What high-flying Men in Blue need to keep in mind when facing co-hosts in New York

India will be aiming to become the third team in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, after South Africa and Australia, to secure qualification to the Super 8s when they face co-hosts USA in New York on Wednesday.

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By the same token, it could be the Americans instead of the Indians confirming their place in the second round of the tournament should they end up on the winning side on Wednesday. This is because both teams are flying high on confidence after winning both of their matches so far in the tournament, with the Men in Blue occupying the top spot in Group A due to their superior Net Run Rate (NRR) of +1.455.

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Wednesday’s clash will be the first time India face the United States in any format, so the Men in Blue will mainly have to rely on analysing footage of the Americans in action from recent matches while preparing for the upcoming clash, which will be their final outing at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York.

Why India need to be wary of the Americans

The United States began their campaign with a
solid display against neighbours Canada
in the tournament opener, chasing down a steep target of 195 with seven overs and more than two overs to spare. That was followed by a
historic victory over 2009 champions
and two-time runners-up Pakistan, winning the battle of nerves in the tense Super Over after both sides finished level on scores of 159.

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The odds normally would be stacked heavily in favour of the Indians when up against the US, and it wouldn’t be too disrespectful to describe this contest as a mismatch. This US team, however, is one that is high on belief after their consecutive victories over Canada and Pakistan, as well as their 2-1 T20I series victory over Bangladesh, another Test-playing nation, just before the World Cup.

Quite a few of their players are also in prime form at the moment. Aaron Jones had struck a match-winning 94 off just 40 balls against Canada and was well-supported by Andries Gous’ 46-ball 65, helping the Americans recover from a shaky start.

The bowlers would then shine against the Babar Azam-led Pakistanis, with Nosthush Kenjige and Saurabh Netravalkar registering figures of 3/30 and 2/18 respectively, the latter later going on to bowl a heroic Super Over. Captain Monank Patel too contributed in that match with a 38-ball 50.

What adds to the challenge is the presence of a handful of Indians in the United States squad, several of whom have played senior-level cricket in India. That includes left-arm pacer and American cricket’s newest sensation Netravalkar, who was part of the Indian squad in the 2010 U-19 World Cup that also had KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat as well as future US teammate Harmeet Singh among others.

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Netravalkar was also part of the Mumbai cricket team and even made a First-Class appearance for them during the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy where he played under Wasim Jaffer’s captaincy and shared the dressing room with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur.

Netravalkar, along with Harmeet, Monank and several other Indian-origin players, would know a thing or two about the Men in Blue and might just have a trick or two up their sleeve.

What India need to do

As for Team India, the highlight of their campaign so far has been their standout bowling performances against Ireland and Pakistan in New York, making a terrific comeback against the latter to successfully defend a modest total of 119.

They will, however, be wary of the fact that they had allowed Ireland to get within touching distance of 100 after reducing them to 50/8 while Pakistan were staring at a certain victory at 73/2, needing just 47 more to win with eight wickets in hand.

It will be important for the Indians to start strong against the Americans on Wednesday and this is where captain Rohit could introduce Bumrah into the attack right away instead of starting with Arshdeep — saving his overs for the last four instead. Just as important will be finishing the job and ensuring that the US don’t end up sneaking their way to a total that later proves handy.

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The attention will also be fixed on the Rohit-Virat Kohli opening pair, which has contributed 22 and 12 runs for the first wicket so far in the tournament, and the latter will be eyeing a big score on Wednesday after twin failures. Also hoping to return to form are Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, the former having collected just nine runs so far in the tournament.

Any changes expected?

Both India and the United States are unlikely to tweak their XIs for Wednesday’s clash. India have played the same XI for two games in a row while the US had brought Nosthush Kenjige in place of Shadley van Schalkwyk for the match against Pakistan in Dallas. And teams usually don’t tweak winning combinations unless absolutely necessary, especially in high-profile tournaments such as the T20 World Cup where maintaining consistency in terms of team selection is paramount.

India skipper Rohit had earlier hinted at being flexible with team selection, but might not be looking at making big changes until the Men in Blue have secured their passage into the Super 8s. This means there could be room for experimentation in their final group match, against Canada in Florida.

Squads:

USA: Monank Patel (c & wk), Aaron Jones (vc), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor and Shayan Jahangir.

India: 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.