India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, delivered a match-winning performance to begin the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, rescuing his side from a precarious position against the USA with a classy 84 not out. His innings powered India to a competitive 161 for 9 after they had slumped to 77 for 6, securing a 29-run victory for the Men in Blue in their Group A opener in Mumbai on Saturday. His game-defining knock helped Suryakumar become the Indian with the most Player of the Match (PoTM) awards in T20I cricket. In his 105th T20I, the former world No. 1 T20I batter claimed his 17th PoTM award, surpassing Virat Kohli’s tally of 16 PoTMs in 125 matches. AS IT HAPPENED | INDIA VS USA T20 WORLD CUP 2026 HIGHLIGHTS For months, the Indian skipper had endured a lean patch, but he consistently maintained that he was “only out of runs and not out of form.” That assurance proved true as he regained his form ahead of the World Cup, scoring three half-centuries in a recent five-match T20I series against New Zealand. He now has four fifties in his last five T20I innings. The all-time record for most PoTM awards in T20Is is held by Malaysia’s Virandeep Singh, with 22 awards in 111 matches. He is followed by Zimbabwe’s all-rounder and captain Sikandar Raza with 19 in 127 matches, then Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli. This was Suryakumar’s fourth PoTM award in T20 World Cup, the second most by an Indian after Kohli’s eight. List of cricketers with most PoTMs in T20Is Virandeep Singh (Malaysia) – 22 Player of the Match awards in 111 T20Is Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) – 19 Player of the Match awards in 127 T20Is Suryakumar Yadav (India) – 16 Player of the Match awards in 105 T20Is* Virat Kohli (India) – 16 Player of the Match awards in 125 T20Is Sami Sohail (Malawi) – 14 Player of the Match awards in 66 T20Is Muhammad Waseem (UAE) – 14 Player of the Match awards in 93 T20Is Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan) – 14 Player of the Match awards in 148 T20Is Rohit Sharma (India) – 14 Player of the Match awards in 159 T20Is Syed Aziz (Malaysia) – 13 Player of the Match awards in 117 T20Is Shadab Khan (Pakistan) – 13 Player of the Match awards in 118 T20Is Bilal Zalmai (Austria) – 12 Player of the Match awards in 50 T20Is Alpesh Ramjani (Uganda) – 12 Player of the Match awards in 65 T20Is Dinesh Nakrani (Uganda) – 12 Player of the Match awards in 82 T20Is Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan) – 12 Player of the Match awards in 106 T20Is David Warner (Australia) – 12 Player of the Match awards in 110 T20Is Glenn Maxwell (Australia) – 12 Player of the Match awards in 126 T20Is Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 12 Player of the Match awards in 129 T20Is
Suryakumar Yadav wins 17th Player of the Match award, breaks Kohli’s T20I record
