USA need to overturn history to beat Netherlands and stay alive

After running India close in their opening game in Mumbai, USA were outplayed by Pakistan in Colombo in their second. A third successive defeat, against Netherlands on Friday, will knock them out of contention for the Super Eight stage. History is also against USA: they have not beaten Netherlands in three attempts in men's T20Is.

USA had earlier given New Zealand a scare during the warm-up fixture in Navi Mumbai, but injuries have weakened them since. Fast bowler Ali Khan is nursing a groin injury while Jasdeep Singh (shoulder injury) has been ruled out of the rest of the 2026 T20 World Cup, with former Pakistan fast bowler Ehsan Adil replacing him in the side. Adil was thrown into the XI straightaway in the second game, but ended up conceding 39 runs in three overs against the country of his birth at the Premadasa. It remains to be seen if Shubham Ranjane, who had hurt his knee, is back to full fitness.

USA are yet to nail down their opening combination: Saiteja Mukkamalla was left out after just one failure, against India. He was their most prolific batter in the lead-up to this World Cup and hit 50 off 31 balls in the warm-up match against New Zealand.

Netherlands will be high on confidence after easing past Namibia on the back of Bas de Leede's all-round effort in Delhi. They bat deep, with Roelof van der Merwe listed at No. 9, and also have a surfeit of bowling options. That depth was central to giving Pakistan a scare in the tournament opener. Netherlands are also familiar with Chennai conditions - their entire squad trained at the Chennai Super Kings Academy in the city for around a week last month.

Netherlands: WLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
USA: LLWWL

Picked as the only frontline left-arm spinner in the Netherlands side, ahead of Daniel Doram and Tim Pringle, Roelof van der Merwe followed up his 1 for 13 in three overs against Pakistan with 0 for 22 in two overs against Namibia. The 41-year-old could play a big role against a right-hand-batter heavy USA line-up.

Saurabh Netravalkar's Mumbai homecoming was far from sweet: he ended up leaking 65 runs in his four overs for no wickets - the most by a bowler in an innings in the T20 World Cup. The left-arm seamer fared much better in USA's next game against Pakistan, and will look to return to his best against Netherlands.

There's no reason for Netherlands to tweak their winning combination unless there are any injuries or illnesses in their camp, though veteran Max O'Dowd has been below par.

Netherlands (probable): 1 Max O'Dowd, 2 Michael Levitt, 3 Bas de Leede, 4 Colin Ackermann, 5 Scott Edwards (capt, wk), 6 Zach Lion-Cachet, 7 Logan van Beek, 8 Aryan Dutt, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Timm van der Gugten, 11 Fred Klaasen

If Ali Khan is fit, he could potentially come back in place of Adil. There might be a toss-up between Mukkamalla and Shayan Jahangir for the opening slot.

USA (probable): 1 Andries Gous (wk), 2 Shayan Jahangir/Saiteja Mukkamalla, 3 Monank Patel (capt), 4 Milind Kumar, 5 Sanjay Krishnamurthi , 6 Shubham Ranjane, 7 Harmeet Singh , 8 Mohammad Mohsin, 9 Shadley van Schalkwyk, 10 Saurabh Netravalkar, 11 Ali Khan/Ehsan Adil

New Zealand coach Rob Walter described the Chepauk pitch as "docile" after openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert hunted down 175 in 15.2 overs against UAE. According to a graphic on the host broadcast on Tuesday, the average turn at Chepauk has been the lowest among the seven venues in this T20 World Cup.

This will be the first night game at Chepauk in this tournament after Afghanistan vs New Zealand and New Zealand vs UAE had started at 11am and 3pm respectively. So dew will be a factor on Thursday, as was the case during IPL 2025.

"It's a cool thing to be playing in four different cities, but it also is an extra challenge and I think we've got a really good S&C and physio that are helping us get back onto our feet after a flight and get us moving again."
Netherlands allrounder Bas de Leede on the travel and quick turnarounds