Mukkamalla 79, Harmeet four-for lead USA's trouncing of Netherlands

A fired-up USA kept their T20 World Cup campaign alive with a thumping victory, their first over Netherlands in men's T20Is. After boundary-laden efforts from Saiteja Mukkamalla and Shubham Ranjane powered USA to 196, Harmeet Singh led the spinners' charge to reduce Netherlands to 66 for 5 on a pitch that offered turn and purchase for slower deliveries. Netherlands then lost 5 for 28 in the end for a 93-run hammering which meant USA are third in Group A.

It was the first evening game of this World Cup in Chennai, where USA got things going as soon as they were asked to bat. Once openers Shayan Jahangir and Monank Patel set the tone with early intent for boundaries, Mukkamalla's 79 off 51 balls led USA's innings for nearly 14 overs, with the run rate nearly touching 10 an over. Ranjane then came out all guns blazing in the death overs and set a total Netherlands had never chased before in a T20 World Cup.

USA's spinners then put the pressure on Netherlands from the get-go. Once Nosthush Kenjige struck in the second over, Harmeet ran through them once he came on in the powerplay to finish with 4 for 21, his second four-for in T20Is.

Even though captain Monank asked his top order at the toss to take five to ten deliveries before taking off, Shayan Jahangir disobeyed by taking the aerial route in the first over with his captain watching at the other end. Jahangir pulled two sixes off short balls in his first five balls for a flying start before being bowled for a 13-ball 20 by Klein. Monank took the responsibility upon himself to keep the run rate soaring, and started with a textbook straight drive that raced to the fence.

Mukkamalla similarly went for the big hits almost right from the start. He fearlessly went aerial again and again, starting with a six off left-arm quick Fred Klaassen, and didn't take the foot off the pedal even after the powerplay. There was no respite for Netherlands despite several bowling changes as USA kept punishing the loose balls, and traded in singles and doubles against the good ones which gave the experienced Roelof van der Merwe figures of 3-0-36-0 without a single dot ball.

At just 21, Mukkamalla seemed as mature as someone "who has been playing for USA for ten years", his captain said after the game. Mukkamalla showed that with dazzling strokeplay that saw sixes down the ground, over the covers, against pace and spin, and all while looking steady and elegant at the crease. Monank himself belted three fours and a six at the other end until a short and slow knuckleball from Bas de Leede foxed him completely for a catch for the wicketkeeper.

Mukkamalla, meanwhile, took off from 25 off 20 balls at one stage with four fours in his next five balls that saw two lofted strokes off van der Merwe and two late cuts against Klaassen. The six he smashed off Klein over the covers for his 30-ball fifty stamped his authority further on the bowlers, who all looked at sea. Sanjay Krishnamurthi was also deceived by a slower one that resulted in shattered stumps even as Mukkamalla kept the boundaries coming, and was joined by Ranjane.

Fresh off his quickfire 51 against Pakistan when he took down Shaheen Shah Afridi, Ranjane showed his range of strokes behind the wicket as the Netherlands quicks refused to offer any pace with their range of cutters. That got them two boundary-less overs, the 16th and 17th, as they went for just 12 runs, including Mukkamalla's wicket for 79.

Ranjane kept shuffling to the off side in anticipation of short and slow balls, which he kept dispatching with slog sweeps, pulls and flicks for 14 runs off the 18th and 13 runs off the 19th over. Logan van Beek conceded just nine runs in the last but USA had managed a steep total by then.

Netherlands had almost no answers for the USA bowlers once Kenjige bowled Michael Levitt in the second over with one that kept very low. Harmeet came on in the fifth over with de Leede attacking, and struck in consecutive overs with his share of luck when he had Max O'Dowd and de Leede hand catches off short and wide deliveries to reduce Netherlands to 53 for 4.

But Harmeet soon found his rhythm. He largely stuck to a stump-to-stump line thereafter, varied his pace from early to the late 80kph, and that helped him rattle Scott Edwards' stumps and trap van der Merwe lbw. The asking rate had shot up over 12 runs an over at the halfway mark, and Netherlands could never recover.

As cutters and slower ones were being rewarded on this pitch, it was only apt that Shadley van Schalkwyk picked three more wickets to add to his two four-fors in the first two games. His wobble-seam delivery early on accounted for Colin Ackermann in the powerplay, his legcutter went through Aryan Dutt, and he wrapped things up in the 16th over to stretch his lead at the top of the wicket-taking charts with his tally of 11 wickets.