WORLD T20: India seals Super Eight spot after hard-fought win over USA

Suryakumar Yadav made an unbeaten half-century as India reached the Super 8s despite being given a fright in a seven-wicket win over T20 World Cup co-hosts USA.

Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh was rewarded for his diligence and accuracy with impressive figures of 4-9 as he helped restrict the United States to 110-8.

Nitish Kumar played some stylish shots to top score for the US with 27 off 23 balls, but the total felt comfortably within reach of India’s powerful batting line-up.

However, a nervous hush descended on the predominantly India-supporting crowd in New York when they made a spluttering start to their reply.

First Virat Kohli nicked off to Saurabh Netravalkar for a golden duck then the US left-arm fast bowler picked up the wicket of fellow opener Rohit Sharma via a leading edge to leave India reeling at 10-2.

A pivotal moment came in the 13th over, with India on 59-3, when Netravalkar spilled a high catch that would have dismissed Suryakumar on 22.

From that point Suryakumar sensed it was his day as he and Shivam Dube, who finished with 31 not out from 35 balls, found the boundary more freely.

The US will also qualify for the Super 8s if they avoid defeat by Ireland in their final Group A match in Florida on Friday, or if the game is rained off.

India face Canada in their final pool match on Saturday. (BBC)