U.S. scare for jittery India as Surya, Arshdeep clinch Super 8 berth for Rohit's men

Arshdeep Singh and Suryakumar Yadav lead India to a T20 World Cup win against USA with ease.

Arshdeep Singh's artistry and Suryakumar Yadav's coolness combined well for India as they staved off USA’s challenge, etching a seven-wicket win to clinch a Super Eight berth in the T20 World Cup here on June 12.

After Arshdeep's career-best 4 for 9 restricted the USA to what looked like a manageable 110 for 8, India made heavy weather of an easy chase on a slightly challenging track before Suryakumar (50 not out off 49 balls) reasserted his status as world's No. 1 ranked T20 batter.

He traded his flamboyance, waiting like a tiger on the prowl for his prey, in the company of Shivam Dube (31 not out off 35 balls), who didn't inspire much confidence despite the chase being completed in 18.2 overs.

The Surya-Dube pair added 67 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand.

The turning point seemed to be a bit of ignorance about the rules from the U.S. bowlers, who flouted the rule of taking only 60 seconds between the overs on three occasions and conceded five penalty runs at an inopportune time.

India needed 35 off 30 balls at that stage when umpire Paul Reiffel informed skipper Aaron Jones about the decision and that effectively ended the U.S. resistance.

That was the opportunity Surya waited for as he then finished the match in a jiffy with a flurry of shots.