Just sheer dominance was on prime display as India marched their way to a seven-wicket triumph over co-hosts USA at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, June 12.

India won the toss, bowled first and reduced the hosts to 110/8 thanks to the incredible spells from Arshdeep Singh (4/9) and Hardik Pandya (2/14).

However, the 111-run chase was far from easy. A gritty show of experience and authority from Aapla Dada Surya (50*) anchored India out of troubled waters (39/3 in 7.3 overs) to a complete victory in 18.2 overs and seal a qualification into the Super Eights.

Here are the consolidated highlights of Team India’s final outing in New York this year.

Damage on arrival

Arshdeep Singh, with his impeccable skill and precision, made a scintillating start by conceding three runs and bagging two wickets in his opening over. His first wicket was a perfect-length ball, curling onto the middle for a sweet plumb dismissal of Shayan Jahangir. The second wicket saw him push Andries Gous to flash it up high in the air, and Hardik Pandya came to take a simple catch from mid-off.

A tight powerplay

Precision, experience, and confidence came to the fore as the Indian bowling attack restricted the USA, a team that has shown promising performances in the T20 World Cup 2024, to 18/2 in the first six overs. This is a significant achievement as it is the lowest score the Men in Blue have conceded in a T20 World Cup match.

4-fer for Arshdeep and 111 to win

Arshdeep proved to be the merchant of venom for the USA as his 4/9 powered India to reduce the hosts’ innings to 110/8. Also contributing to the cause was HP with 2/14 and Axar Patel (1/25)

In turn, the Men in Blue would take on a new challenge - chase 111, the highest target at Nassau County in this year’s T20 World Cup.

Surviving a scare in the Powerplay

Having shown how they can spring a surprise, the USA bowling unit - led by Mumbai-born Saurabh Netravalkar - restricted India to 33/2 in the powerplay. But from there onwards, the real fight began..

Special Surya takes India into Super Eight

You asked for it, and you got it - signalled Aapla Dada Surya as he confidently steered the run chase back into India’s favour with his gritty unbeaten 50 off 49 balls. While Rishabh Pant injected 18 runs in the run-in, SKY resuscitated the batting from 39/3 in 7.3 overs onto the finish line alongside Shivam Dube (31*) to ensure the Men in Blue made it three wins from three. This resilience and determination undoubtedly made the audience proud of their team.

With their qualification to the Super Eight secured, India is now gearing up for the final league game against Canada, with the aim to finish with four wins in four games, a feat that would undoubtedly ignite excitement and hope among their fans. We move to Florida, where big scores are the normal, and we can go back to expecting our Men in Blue smash it around for fun. Bring it on!

Brief scores: India 111/3 (Suryakumar Yadav 50*, Shivam Dube 31*; Saurabh Netravalkar 2/18) BEAT USA 110/8 (Nitish Kumar 27, Steven Taylor 24; Arshdeep Singh 4/9, Hardik Pandya 2/14) BY SEVEN WICKETS.